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Thorlabs Releases Ultra-Low-Noise Semiconductor Lasers

Newton, NJ – March 10, 2020 – Thorlabs has announced the release of its ultra-low-noise semiconductor laser product line, which offers an unrivaled combination of high output power (greater than 100 mW), narrow linewidth (less than 100 Hz), and ultra-low relative intensity noise (RIN less than -165 dB/Hz). Based on a patented Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) external cavity design, these lasers provide output centered at 1550 nm.

ULN15PT: 1550 nm Ultra-Low-Noise Semiconductor Laser
with PM Fiber and Temperature Tuning



“These ultra-low-noise lasers build on Thorlabs’ class-leading semiconductor gain chip to offer a unique combination of high output power, low phase noise, and low RIN for demanding applications in remote sensing, optical comb generation, and RF/microwave photonics,” said Jian Wei, Director of Semiconductor Components at Thorlabs’ Quantum Electronics facility in Jessup, MD.

Commercialized in collaboration with Morton Photonics, Inc., each laser is packaged in an extended 14-pin butterfly housing featuring two thermoelectric cooler elements for precise laser and FBG control and stabilization. Offered in both polarization maintaining and single mode fiber variants, these lasers can be optimized for wavelength tuning by temperature or current depending on the application.

“I am thrilled to see the release of the ultra-low-noise produce line,” said Paul Morton, CEO & Founder of Morton Photonics. “Thorlabs has been an excellent partner committed to bringing state-of-the-art semiconductor laser products to both research and commercial markets. We look forward to continued collaboration, such as supporting wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) as well as extending this product line to other wavelength bands. The latter will provide sensing markets with higher performance, lower cost, and more reliable semiconductor laser solutions and also support emerging applications in atomic physics and quantum information processing.”

Our ultra-low-noise lasers join Thorlabs’ extensive offering of single frequency lasers, which span wavelengths from 671 nm to 11 µm. For more information on these new products, please visit www.thorlabs.com.

About Thorlabs: Thorlabs, a vertically integrated photonics products manufacturer, was founded in 1989 to serve the laser and electro-optics research market. As that market has spawned a multitude of technical innovations, Thorlabs has extended its core competencies in an effort to play an ever increasing role serving the Photonics Industry at the research end, as well as the industrial, life science, medical, and defense segments. The organization’s highly integrated and diverse manufacturing assets include semiconductor fabrication of Fabry-Perot, DFB, and VCSEL lasers; fiber towers for drawing both silica and fluoride glass optical fibers; MBE/MOCVD epitaxial wafer growth reactors; extensive glass and metal fabrication facilities; advanced thin film deposition capabilities; and optomechanical and optoelectronic shops.