The distributed feedback dfb laser is a laser where the whole resonator consists of a periodic structure in the laser gain medium, which acts as a distributed Bragg reflector in the wavelength range of laser action.
Types of DFB Lasers
Most distributed-feedback lasers are either fiber lasers or semiconductor lasers, operating on a single resonator mode
- Fiber Lasers
In the case of a fiber laser, the distributed reflection occurs in a fiber Bragg grating, typically with a length of a few millimeters or centimeters. Efficient pump absorption can be achieved only with a high doping concentration of the fiber, and unfortunately it is often not easy to write high contrast Bragg gratings into fibers with a composition (e.g. phosphate glass) which allows for a high doping concentration. Therefore, the output power is usually fairly limited (e.g. to a few tens of milliwatts), and the power conversion efficiency is small. However, this kind of single-frequency fiber laser is very simple and compact. Its compactness and robustness also leads to a low intensity and phase noise level, i.e., also a low linewidth, although the fundamental linewidth limit (the Schawlow–Townes linewidth) is higher than for longer fiber lasers.
2.Fiber Lasers
Semiconductor DFB lasers can be built with an integrated grating structure, e.g. a corrugated waveguide. The grating structure may be produced on top of the active region, which however requires time-consuming regrowth techniques. An alternative is to make laterally coupled structures, where the gratings are on both sides of the active region. Semiconductor DFB lasers are available for emission in different spectral regions at least in the range from 0.8 μm to 2.8 μm.
Typical output powers are some tens of milliwatts. The linewidth is typically a few hundred MHz, and wavelength tuning is often possible over several nanometers. Temperature-stabilized devices, as used e.g. in DWDM systems, can exhibit a high wavelength stability.