Measurements of linewidth variations within external-cavity modes of a grating-cavity laser

Linewidth variations within an external-cavity mode of a grating-cavity laser were measured with high accuracy using the self-homodyne technique with a short delay line. To our knowledge, this is the first time that these variations have been accurately measured. In our laser, we observed the linewidth to change by a factor of five from 30 kHz to more than 150 kHz when the laser was tuned over a single external-cavity mode. A simple model based on a linear relationship between the chirp reduction factor and the frequency tuning of the laser is used to describe the results. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.