Improved laser phase locking with intra-cavity adaptive optics

Phase locking of coupled lasers is severely hindered by the spread in their natural lasing frequencies. We present an intra-cavity adaptive optics method that reduces the frequency spread and thereby improves phase locking. Using an intra-cavity spatial light modulator and an iterative optimization algorithm, we demonstrate a fourfold enhancement of phase locking 450 coupled lasers, as quantified by the peak intensity and the inverse participation ratio of the far-field output distributions. We further show that the improvement is long-lasting, and suitable for phase locking of weakly coupled lasers.

Automated summary

We propose an intra-cavity adaptive optics method to reduce the frequency spread and improve phase locking of coupled lasers. By using a spatial light modulator and an iterative optimization algorithm, we achieve a fourfold enhancement in phase locking of 450 coupled lasers, as measured by the peak intensity and the inverse participation ratio of the far-field output distributions. We also demonstrate that this improvement is long-lasting and suitable for phase locking of weakly coupled lasers.