Single longitudinal mode control of semiconductor lasers by rectangular conical diffractor system for wavelength-division-multiplexing transmission

A new external feedback system named the rectangular conical diffractor (RCD), which is composed of a diffraction grating and a mirror, is designed. This system has advantages for wavelength-division-multiplexing transmission systems. By using this system in both single and multimode semiconductor lasers: 1) the oscillation wavelength of a semiconductor laser can be selected freely; 2) some semiconductor lasers oscillate at different wavelengths from one another simultaneously, and no interference exists between the oscillation wavelengths under the condition that each semiconductor laser is operated independently; and 3) the selected wavelength is stable against temperature variation of the lasers.