Gapless tuning of quantum cascade laser frequency combs with external cavity optical feedback

We present the operation of quantum cascade laser fre-quency combs in an external cavity configuration. Exper-imental observations show dependence of comb repetition rate and optical spectrum on the external cavity length. The low phase-noise comb regime is extended to a broader range of bias currents, enabling gapless frequency tuning of the comb modes. Dual-comb measurements also confirm improved comb stability in the presence of unwanted optical feedback when operating in an external cavity configuration. These observations indicate that aside from the continuing efforts to assure low and uniform dispersion characteristics of quantum cascade laser frequency combs, the proposed simple approach of adding a broadband external cavity can significantly enhance operation of sub-optimal devices for spectroscopic applications. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group