JP2006324371A - Laser equipment, laser wavelength detection method and hologram equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the wavelength of an external resonance laser with high precision. <P>SOLUTION: Laser light emitted from an external resonance semiconductor laser 19 impinges on a grating 20 and separated through reflection diffraction into 0th order light L0 and first order light L1. Angle of diffraction θ of the first order light L1 depends on the wavelength of laser light impinging on the grating 20. When the wavelength of laser light varies, the first order light L1 moves in the direction of an arrow 22 to vary the position of the first order light spot on a split detector 21. The wavelength can be determined by detecting the position of the spot. The first order light L1 impinges on the detector 21 through an anamorphic prism 23. A laser beam having a reduced diameter can be obtained by reducing an elliptical beam from the semiconductor laser in the long axis direction by means of the anamorphic prism 23. Consequently, detection accuracy can be prevented from degrading and noise can be prevented from increasing due to large spot size. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser device, a laser wavelength detection method, and a hologram device.

  In recent years, laser devices have been widely used in information equipment because of their small size and low power consumption. For example, for holographic data storage (HDS), one laser beam is divided into two by a beam splitter, and then combined again on a recording medium, and data is stored by the interference.

  As such a hologram recording / reproducing light source, a single mode laser light source is used. For example, a gas laser or an SHG laser is used. An external resonator type semiconductor laser using a laser diode (LD) can also be used.

  Ordinary laser diodes are insufficient in terms of coherency because they are multimode. Therefore, if an external resonator type semiconductor laser is configured using a laser diode, a single mode can be realized, and a light source for hologram recording / reproduction with good coherency can be realized. A typical configuration of such a laser device including an external cavity semiconductor laser is described in Non-Patent Document 1 below.

L. Ricci, et al .: “A compact grating-stabilized diode laser system for atomic physics”, Optics Communications, 117 1995, pp541-549

  FIG. 1 shows an optical system for recording and reproducing holograms using a laser light source. The laser light 2 emitted from the laser light source 1 is turned on / off by the shutter 3, the beam diameter is enlarged by the next beam expander 4, becomes an enlarged laser light 5, and enters the beam splitter 6. The laser beam 5 is divided into two directions by the beam splitter 6.

  Of the divided two-direction laser beams, the straight laser beam is reflected by the mirror 8 as the reference beam 7, narrowed by the lens 14, and applied to the recording medium 13.

  Laser light traveling in the other direction is modulated by a spatial modulator 9 composed of liquid crystal or the like to become signal light 10.

  The signal light 10 is reflected by the mirror 11, is narrowed down by the recording lens 12, and is irradiated to the same place where the reference light 7 on the recording medium 13 is incident on the recording medium 13. Recorded as a pattern.

  In recording the hologram, the laser light source 1 always outputs a laser beam 2 with a constant power, and opens and closes the shutter 3 in the middle of the recording optical path for an optimal time for recording.

  FIG. 2 shows an external resonator type semiconductor laser called a Littrow type using a laser diode. The laser light emitted from the laser diode 15 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 16, enters a reflection type diffraction grating (hereinafter referred to as a grating) 17, and is reflected as zero-order light and primary light when reflected. To be separated. The diffraction angle of the primary light varies depending on the wavelength.

  Depending on the angle of the grating 17, primary light having a specific wavelength passes through the collimator lens 16 again as indicated by an arrow 18 and is back-injected into the laser diode 15. As a result, the laser diode 15 resonates with the injected first-order diffracted light to emit single mode light, and the wavelength of the light is the same as the wavelength of the light returned from the grating 17. That is, a resonator is formed between the grating 17 and the laser diode 15 by the returned laser light, and the laser diode oscillates at a wavelength determined by the grating shape of the grating 17 and the distance between the grating 17 and the laser diode 15. The 0th-order light is reflected in the same way as a normal mirror and used for hologram recording / reproduction.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of a more specific configuration of the Littrow laser device including the external resonant semiconductor laser shown in FIG. In the laser device, the longitudinal multimode laser beams emitted from the laser diode 51 are collected in parallel by the lens 52 and are incident on the grating 53. The grating 53 outputs first-order diffracted light of incident light. First-order diffracted light having a specific wavelength corresponding to the arrangement angle of the grating 53 is reversely injected into the laser diode 51 through the lens 52. As a result, the laser diode 51 resonates with the injected first-order diffracted light and emits single-mode light (0th-order light represented by the arrow F), and the wavelength of the light returns from the grating 53. It becomes the same as the wavelength of the incoming light.

  The grating 53 is held by the support portion 54. A groove 56 is provided in the support portion 54, and by rotating a screw 55 provided in the support portion 54, the interval between the grooves 56 is partially expanded or narrowed, whereby the horizontal direction of the grating 53 is increased. The placement angle changes slightly. The laser wavelength can be changed by changing the angle of the grating 53.

  A similar mechanism is provided for adjusting the vertical angle of the grating 53. The support portion 54 that holds the grating 53 is held by a support portion 57. The support portion 57 is provided with a groove (not shown). By rotating a screw 58 provided on the support portion 57, the interval between the grooves is partially expanded or narrowed, whereby the vertical direction of the grating 53 is increased. The orientation angle of the direction changes slightly.

  Here, for example, a blue laser diode is used as the laser diode 51. The external resonance type laser device configured as described above can also be used for applications such as a holographic memory writer that requires a single mode single laser beam.

  Next, with reference to the graph of FIG. 4, the relationship between the laser power and the wavelength of the laser light output from the external resonator type laser device as described in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described. The horizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 4 indicates the laser power, and the unit is mW. On the other hand, the vertical axis of the graph represents the wavelength, and the unit is nm. As can be seen from FIG. 4, as the laser power of the laser beam increases, the wavelength of the laser beam generally changes in a sawtooth waveform.

  In the external cavity type laser device, the laser beam emitted when the laser power increases, and the external cavity mode hop region where the wavelength of the emitted laser light gradually increases as the laser power increases. There is a mode hop region due to the laser chip in the semiconductor laser, where the wavelength of the laser diode decreases rapidly. The wavelength of the laser light changes discretely to some extent as the laser power increases.

  For example, when the laser power is around 30 mW, a single wavelength laser beam is emitted and becomes a complete single mode. However, when the laser power is around 32 mW, light of three modes (three modes) is generated. ing. Further, when the laser power is around 35 mW, which corresponds to the mode hop region of the laser chip in the semiconductor laser, three-mode light is generated near the wavelength of 409.75 nm, and further, the three-mode light is emitted near the wavelength of 409.715 nm. As a whole, 6-mode light is emitted.

  FIG. 5 shows the spectrum of several laser beams. As described above, in the external resonator mode hop region where the wavelength of the laser light gradually increases, the spectrum is as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C. On the other hand, for example, in a mode hop region by a laser chip in a semiconductor laser having a laser power of around 35 mW, the spectrum is as shown in FIG. 5D.

  When these laser lights are used for holographic data storage, the three-mode light or the two-mode light (ie, as shown in FIG. 5B) that the laser power is generated near 32 mW (ie, as shown in FIG. 5A). Can be used in the same manner as single-mode light because it exhibits recording / reproduction characteristics equivalent to perfect single-mode light (spectrum light shown in FIG. 5C). Here, for example, a complete single mode in which the laser power is generated in the vicinity of 30 mW and a three mode or two mode in which the laser power is generated in the vicinity of 32 mW are collectively referred to as usable modes.

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 5D, the 6 mode state in which the laser power is generated in the vicinity of 35 mW realizes good hologram recording because the two 3 mode sets are separated from each other by about 40 pm. I can't. Here, such a mode is referred to as an unusable mode.

  The region where the usable mode laser light can be obtained substantially corresponds to the above-described external cavity mode hop region, and the region where the unusable mode laser light can be obtained is the mode described above by the laser chip in the semiconductor laser. Almost corresponds to the hop area. As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 4, in general, the region in which the laser beam in the usable mode is obtained is much wider than the region in which the laser beam in the unusable mode is obtained. Can be effectively eliminated, it is sufficiently possible to use an external cavity semiconductor laser for holographic data storage.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the graph of FIG. 4 with a sawtooth wave. As described above, in the external cavity semiconductor laser, the oscillation spectrum of the laser beam is disturbed by the laser power in the B region and the D region. When hologram recording / reproduction is performed using such laser light with a disturbed oscillation spectrum, the hologram recording / reproduction characteristics deteriorate.

  Further, when the ambient temperature changes, the characteristics shown in the graphs shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 are also disturbed, and the position of the laser power that becomes a region where the oscillation spectrum is disturbed changes. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the temperature in the external cavity semiconductor laser substantially constant, control the laser power so as to avoid the region where the oscillation spectrum is disturbed, and avoid the region. Further, when the wavelength is changed by about ± 3 nm with respect to the central wavelength, for example, around 407 nm by changing the angle of the grating, the actual wavelength value when the wavelength is changed to control to the desired wavelength. It is important to detect the wavelength, and it is necessary to detect the wavelength with an accuracy of at least several tens of pm.

  Therefore, when recording and reproducing holograms using an external cavity semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser, the oscillation wavelength of the laser beam is determined, and the wavelength of the laser beam is set according to the wavelength determination result. It is desirable to control. The inventor of the present application has previously proposed a laser apparatus that detects the movement of the beam position in accordance with the wavelength with a detection element such as a two-divided detector or a position sensor, and controls the laser power from the detection result.

  In order to detect a change in beam position by a detection element, for example, a two-divided detector, it is necessary that a difference occurs in the amount of light received by the two photodetectors due to the change in position. However, since the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser has an elliptical cross section, there is a problem that wavelength detection cannot be performed with high accuracy. For example, it has an elliptical shape in which the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis is about (2.7: 1). As a result of actual measurement, the major axis was about 4 mm in size.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 21 indicates a two-divided detector in which detectors, for example, photodetectors 21a and 21b are sequentially arranged in the moving direction accompanying the wavelength change of the laser beam LB. The beam position is detected from the difference between detection signals obtained from the photodetectors 21a and 21b. However, since the spot of the laser beam LB has an elliptical shape and the direction of the long axis coincides with the moving direction of the light spot, even if the position of the laser beam LB changes, the difference signal hardly changes, and the position There was a problem that changes could not be detected correctly. Further, undesirable multiple reflection occurs in the path until the laser beam reaches the detector 21, and the intensity unevenness in the beam also occurs, which hinders highly accurate wavelength detection.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser apparatus, a laser wavelength detection method, and a hologram apparatus that can solve such problems and can correctly detect a change in the wavelength of the laser beam as a change in the position of the light spot. There is.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a first aspect of the present invention is a laser device having a configuration of an external cavity semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser,
A diffraction grating on which light emitted from an external cavity semiconductor laser is incident;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the primary light diffracted by the diffraction grating;
An optical element that reduces the elliptical major axis side of the diffracted primary light and converts it into a substantially circular shape,
In this laser device, the wavelength of the emitted light from the external resonator type semiconductor laser is determined from the change in the position of the light spot with respect to the detection element.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hologram apparatus for recording or reproducing data on a hologram recording medium by wavelength multiplexing.
An external cavity type semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser is provided as a light source,
A diffraction grating on which light emitted from an external cavity semiconductor laser is incident;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the primary light diffracted by the diffraction grating;
An optical element that reduces the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
In this hologram device, the wavelength of the light emitted from the external resonator type semiconductor laser is determined from the position change of the light spot with respect to the detection element.

A third aspect of the present invention is a laser wavelength detection method for an external cavity semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser,
The light emitted from the external cavity semiconductor laser is incident on the diffraction grating,
The primary element diffracted by the diffraction grating detects the change in the position of the light spot by the detection element,
The major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light is reduced by the optical element,
This is a laser wavelength detection method for determining the wavelength of light emitted from an external resonator type semiconductor laser from a change in the position of a spot with respect to a detection element.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a laser light source that generates multimode laser light;
A diffraction grating that reflects zero-order light in a predetermined direction other than the laser light source among the laser light from the laser light source and reflects the primary light to the laser light source side;
A first optical element that reflects the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating in a predetermined direction and transmits a part of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the transmitted light of the first optical element;
A second optical element for reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
In this laser apparatus, the wavelength of the 0th-order light reflected by the diffraction grating is determined from the change in the position of the light spot with respect to the detection element.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the hologram apparatus for recording or reproducing data by wavelength multiplexing with respect to the hologram recording medium,
A laser light source for generating multimode laser light;
A diffraction grating that reflects zero-order light in a predetermined direction other than the laser light source among the laser light from the laser light source and reflects the primary light to the laser light source side;
A first optical element that reflects the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating in a predetermined direction and transmits a part of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the transmitted light of the first optical element;
A second optical element for reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
The hologram apparatus has a laser device as a light source that determines the wavelength of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating from the change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element.

A sixth aspect of the present invention generates a multimode laser beam,
The diffraction grating reflects zero-order light in a predetermined direction other than the light source in the laser light, reflects the primary light to the light source side,
The first optical element reflects zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating in a predetermined direction, and transmits part of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating,
By detecting the position change of the light spot of the transmitted light of the first optical element by the detection element,
The second optical element reduces the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
In this laser wavelength detection method, the wavelength of the 0th-order light reflected by the diffraction grating is determined from the change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element.

  According to the present invention, the laser light incident on the detection element for detecting the laser wavelength can be narrowed down to a small diameter by reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape, and the wavelength detection accuracy by the detection element can be reduced. Can be high. As a result, the wavelength can be controlled to a desired value with high accuracy.

  One embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to monitor the actual wavelength value when the wavelength is changed in order to control to the desired wavelength when the center wavelength is changed over a wide range in the range of several nm. It is a thing.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a configuration for determining the oscillation wavelength of an external cavity semiconductor laser according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8A shows a configuration example for detecting the oscillation wavelength. The laser light emitted from the tunable external resonant semiconductor laser 19 that can adjust the wavelength of the output laser light by changing the inclination of the grating is incident on the grating (reflection diffraction grating) 20 at an incident angle of, for example, 45 °. Incident at. The external resonant semiconductor laser 19 has the configuration described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, and the grating 20 is provided for wavelength detection.

  By being reflected and diffracted by the grating 20, the laser light is separated into the 0th-order light L0 and the first-order light L1. The diffraction angle θ of the primary light L1 depends on the wavelength of the laser light incident on the diffraction grating 20. Accordingly, when the wavelength of the laser light generated by the laser 19 changes, the primary light L1 moves in the direction in which the two detectors of the two-divided detector 21 are arranged, as indicated by the arrow 22. That is, the wavelength of the laser beam can be determined by detecting the position of the light spot of the primary light on the two-divided detector 21.

The laser beam incident on the two-divided detector 21 from the laser 19 has an elliptical shape with the light spot change direction 22 as the major axis. In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8B, the primary light L1 reflected by the grating 20 is irradiated to the two-divided detector 21 via the anamorphic prism 23.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows an example of the anamorphic prism 23. The anamorphic prism 23 is composed of two prisms 24a and 24b having the same shape. An outgoing beam size D2 obtained by reducing the incident beam size D1 is obtained. By reducing the major axis direction of an elliptical beam of a semiconductor laser having a predetermined wavelength, for example, 405 nm by the anamorphic prism 23, the diameter of the beam spot can be reduced.

  For example, when the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the elliptical shape of the outgoing laser beam of the semiconductor laser is (2.7: 1) and the major axis length is 4 mm, the minor axis length is 1.48 mm. Become. If the major axis direction is reduced to 1 / 2.7, a perfect laser beam having a diameter of 1.48 mm can be incident on the light receiving surface of the two-divided detector 21. The light spot can also be made into a perfect circle by enlarging the minor axis direction, but in that case, the spot diameter becomes the size of the major axis (in this example, 4 mm). An increase in the spot diameter causes unevenness in intensity and increases noise. Preferably, the diameter of the light spot is 2 mm or less. Note that it is not important that the spot shape is a circle. For example, as a result of reducing the major axis, an elliptical shape whose original minor axis may be a minor axis may be used. Of course, if the reduction becomes excessive, there is a problem that only one of the two-divided detectors is irradiated if the beam moves even a little. According to one embodiment of the present invention, wavelength measurement can be performed with an accuracy of several pm.

  In the present invention, other optical elements may be used instead of the anamorphic prism. A long axis direction of the first-order diffracted light may be reduced using a cylindrical lens, a convex lens, or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 8C, the light spot LB of the primary light L <b> 1 whose elliptical long axis is reduced is irradiated onto the light receiving surface of the two-divided detector 21 through the anamorphic prism 23. The position of the light spot 24 changes in the direction indicated by the arrow because the diffraction angle changes as the wavelength changes.

  In the detection of the position of the light spot, the photocurrents A and B from the detectors 21a and 21b of the two-divided detector 21 can be obtained by an arithmetic expression (position (wavelength) = (A−B) / (A + B)). . The position of the light spot on the detector can be detected from the value of the difference signal normalized by the sum of photocurrents (A + B). From the detection result, for example, the wavelength of the laser beam can be determined by using a table representing the correspondence relationship between the detection result and the wavelength prepared in advance.

  FIG. 10 schematically shows a change in the calculation output (A−B) / (A + B) by the above-described detection method when the output laser wavelength is changed by changing the angle of the grating 20. For example, when a laser beam having a reference wavelength at the center of the change range, for example, 403.5 nm, is generated, the calculation output is set to 0, and the calculation output is set to be positive or negative corresponding to the wavelength shift with respect to the reference wavelength λ0 Set to change.

  Since the calculation output becomes a value corresponding to the wavelength of the laser beam, the wavelength shift can be detected by monitoring the value of the calculation output. A laser beam having a desired wavelength can be output by controlling the angle of the grating based on the detection result.

  Note that one embodiment of the present invention is also applicable to detection of a change in wavelength due to a mode hop of a semiconductor laser, which is an extremely small change in wavelength compared to a change in wavelength when the angle of the grating 20 is changed. Applicable. In that case, by controlling the laser power, it is possible to prevent the generation of laser light with a disturbed oscillation spectrum.

As the detection element, not only the two-divided detector 21 but also a one-dimensional PSD (Position Sensitive Detector) 25 shown in FIG. 11 can be used. The PSD 25 has a configuration in which a uniform resistance layer is formed on one side or both sides of a high-resistance semiconductor substrate, and a pair of electrodes for signal extraction are provided on both ends of the resistance layer. The light receiving surface forms a PN junction simultaneously with the resistance layer, and a photocurrent is generated by the photovoltaic effect. Photocurrents A and B are generated from the electrodes at both ends in accordance with the position of the light spot LB on the light receiving surface. When the light spot is located at the center position of the light receiving surface, the photocurrents A and B have the same value.

  Therefore, the position of the light spot LB on the light receiving surface moves in the direction of the arrow as the wavelength changes. This position change can detect the photocurrents A and B from the PSD 25 by the following arithmetic expression: position (wavelength) = (A−B) / (A + B), and the wavelength of the laser beam can be determined.

  In the above-described embodiment, the long axis side of the beam shape is reduced by the anamorphic prism. However, it is possible to accurately detect the laser wavelength without using an anamorphic prism. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, if the arrangement direction of the detectors 21a and 21b of the two-divided detector 21 coincides with the short axis direction of the laser beam spot LB, the length of the short axis is 2 m or less. It is possible to obtain a difference signal in accordance with the change in position.

  In this way, in order to rotate the beam spot LB by 90 °, the emitted light of the laser 19 is made incident on the grating 20 through the λ / 2 plate 31, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. FIG. 13A shows a configuration similar to FIG. 8A, and FIG. 13B is a view of this configuration as viewed from above.

  As shown in FIG. 13B, the incident light, the 0th-order light L0, and the first-order light L1 appear to overlap with the grating 20. However, only the primary light L1 is incident on the two-divided detector 21. The polarization state of the laser beam is rotated by 90 ° by the λ / 2 plate 31, and the p-polarized light is changed to s-polarized light and is incident on the grating 20. As shown in FIG. 13A, the direction in which the grooves of the grating 20 are arranged matches the arrangement direction of the detectors 21a and 21b of the two-divided detector 21.

  Next, a configuration for determining the oscillation wavelength of an external cavity semiconductor laser to which the present invention can be applied will be described with reference to FIG. In the configuration of FIG. 14, the wavelength detection is performed inside the tunable laser device, unlike one embodiment in which a grating is provided for wavelength detection.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the laser 40 includes a laser diode 41, a collimating lens 42, a grating 43, a semi-transmissive mirror 44, and a two-divided detector 45. The laser diode 41 emits multimode laser light. The collimating lens 42 converts the laser light into parallel light. In this specification, the term “half” of the semi-transmissive mirror does not mean a transmittance of 50%, but a mirror that generates a small amount of transmitted light with a transmittance of 10% or less, for example, 5%. means.

  The angle of the grating 43 is set so that the grating 43 generates primary light in a different direction for each wavelength, and primary light corresponding to a specific wavelength, for example, 410 nm returns to the laser diode 41. As a result, only the wavelength component in the laser diode 41 becomes large, and a single mode is set. Most of the laser light emitted by the laser diode 41 is not first-order light but zero-order light. Therefore, in an external resonator type semiconductor laser called a Littrow type, the oscillation wavelength can be varied by changing the angle of the grating 43.

  FIG. 15 is an example of a characteristic showing the relationship between the wavelength and the emission angle of the light reflected by the grating 43.

  The semi-transmissive mirror 44 reflects the zero-order light reflected by the grating 43 in a predetermined direction, but transmits a part of the zero-order light without completely reflecting the light. The two-divided detector 45 is arranged at a position where the light transmitted through the semi-transmissive mirror 44 hits.

  The grating 43 and the semi-transparent mirror 44 are arranged so that the reflection surface of the grating 43 and the reflection surface of the semi-transmission mirror 44 form a predetermined angle, and the intersection of the extension lines of these reflection surfaces becomes the rotation fulcrum 46. Are arranged as follows. As described above, when the rotation fulcrum 46 is set, the direction of the laser beam reflected by the semi-transmission mirror 44 and emitted to the outside even if the grating 43 and the semi-transmission mirror 44 are rotated while keeping the angles of the grating 43 and the semi-transmission mirror 44 is set. It can be kept unchanged.

  Depending on the angle of the grating 43, the direction of the laser beam reflected by the grating 43 and incident on the semi-transmissive mirror 44 also changes. As a result, when the angle of the grating 43 is changed, the incident position of the light with respect to the two-divided detector 45 changes as indicated by an arrow. By detecting this change, the wavelength of the laser beam can be detected.

  That is, as in the embodiment, the position can be detected by calculating the photocurrents A and B from the two detectors of the two-divided detector 45 according to the following expression. Further, instead of the two-divided detector 45, PSD may be used.

  Position (wavelength) = (A−B) / (A + B)

  Light intensity = A + B

  FIG. 16 shows a more specific configuration of the configuration shown in FIG. The grating 43 and the semi-transmissive mirror 44 are held by the holding member 48, and the reflecting surfaces of the grating 43 and the semi-transmissive mirror 44 are always held at a predetermined angle. The holding member 48 is rotatable about the fulcrum 46. The lever 48 a on the other side of the holding member 48 is given elasticity by the leaf spring 49 and can be displaced along the direction of elasticity by the rotation of the screw 50. Therefore, the holding member 48 can be rotated by rotating the screw 50, and the wavelength of the laser can be changed.

  FIG. 17 shows still another embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the laser described above. An anamorphic prism 47 is inserted in the optical path of the transmitted light of the semi-transmissive mirror 44. As described above, the anamorphic prism 47 reduces the long axis side of the ellipse of the transmitted light spot. As a result, the detection by the two-divided detector 45 can be performed accurately. Instead of the anamorphic prism 47, an optical element such as a cylindrical convex lens or a convex lens may be used.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the laser device of the present invention can be used for purposes other than hologram recording / reproduction.

It is a basic diagram which shows an example of the optical system of hologram recording / reproducing. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a Littlow type | mold laser. It is a basic diagram which shows the specific structural example of a structure of a Littlow type | mold laser. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the wavelength of the laser beam inject | emitted from an external resonator type semiconductor laser, and the change of laser power. It is a basic diagram which shows the pattern of the mode of the laser beam inject | emitted from an external resonator type semiconductor laser. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the wavelength of a laser beam, and the change of laser power in the shape of a sawtooth wave. It is a basic diagram which shows the beam spot formed on the light-receiving surface of a 2 division | segmentation photodetector. It is a basic diagram used for description of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a basic diagram for demonstrating the anamorphic prism used for one Embodiment of this invention. It is a basic diagram for demonstrating the control method of the laser wavelength by this invention. It is a basic diagram which shows the one-dimensional PSD which can be used for this invention. It is a basic diagram which shows the relationship between the beam spot used for description of other embodiment of this invention, and a detection element. It is a basic diagram used for description of other embodiment of this invention. It is a basic diagram which shows the other example of the external resonator type semiconductor laser which can apply this invention. It is an example of the characteristic which shows the relationship between the wavelength and the outgoing angle of the light reflected by the grating. The more concrete structure of the structure shown in FIG. 14 is shown. It is a basic diagram which shows other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser light source 2 ... Laser light 9 ... Spatial modulator 10 ... Signal light 15 ... Laser diode 16 ... Collimator lens 17 ... Grating 19 ... Laser 20 ..Grating (diffraction grating)
21 ... Detector 26 ... Beam splitter 27 ... Photo detector

Claims (9)

A laser device having a configuration of an external cavity semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser,
A diffraction grating on which light emitted from the external cavity semiconductor laser is incident;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the primary light diffracted by the diffraction grating;
An optical element for reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
A laser apparatus for determining a wavelength of light emitted from the external resonator type semiconductor laser from a change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element. In claim 1,
A laser apparatus for driving the semiconductor laser so that the laser power of the laser light emitted from the external resonator type semiconductor laser to the outside does not become a power with a disturbed oscillation spectrum corresponding to the determined wavelength. In claim 1,
A laser apparatus, wherein the optical element is an anamorphic prism. In a hologram apparatus for recording or reproducing data by wavelength multiplexing to a hologram recording medium,
An external cavity type semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser is provided as a light source,
A diffraction grating on which light emitted from the external cavity semiconductor laser is incident;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the primary light diffracted by the diffraction grating;
An optical element for reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
A hologram apparatus configured to determine the wavelength of emitted light from the external resonator type semiconductor laser from a change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element. A laser wavelength detection method for an external cavity semiconductor laser including a semiconductor laser,
The light emitted from the external cavity semiconductor laser is incident on the diffraction grating,
The primary element diffracted by the diffraction grating detects a change in the position of the light spot by a detection element,
By the optical element, the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light is reduced,
A laser wavelength detection method for determining a wavelength of emitted light from the external resonator type semiconductor laser from a change in position of the spot with respect to the detection element. A laser light source for generating multimode laser light;
Of the laser light from the laser light source, a diffraction grating that reflects zero-order light in a predetermined direction other than the laser light source and reflects primary light to the laser light source side;
A first optical element that reflects the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating in a predetermined direction and transmits a part of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the transmitted light of the first optical element;
A second optical element for reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
A laser device that determines the wavelength of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating from a change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element. In claim 6,
Rotating around the point where the extension line of each reflection surface of the diffraction grating and the first optical element intersects while maintaining the angle formed by the reflection surface of the diffraction grating and the first optical element constant. Laser device configured to be possible. In a hologram apparatus for recording or reproducing data by wavelength multiplexing to a hologram recording medium,
A laser light source for generating multimode laser light;
Of the laser light from the laser light source, a diffraction grating that reflects zero-order light in a predetermined direction other than the laser light source and reflects primary light to the laser light source side;
A first optical element that reflects the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating in a predetermined direction and transmits a part of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating;
A detection element for detecting a change in position of the light spot of the transmitted light of the first optical element;
A second optical element for reducing the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
A hologram apparatus having, as a light source, a laser apparatus that determines the wavelength of zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating from a change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element. Generate multimode laser light,
The diffraction grating reflects zero-order light in a predetermined direction other than the light source in the laser light, reflects primary light to the light source side,
The first optical element reflects zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating in a predetermined direction, and transmits a part of the zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating,
By detecting the position change of the light spot of the transmitted light of the first optical element by the detection element,
The second optical element reduces the major axis side of the elliptical shape of the diffracted primary light,
A laser wavelength detection method for determining a wavelength of zero-order light reflected by the diffraction grating from a change in position of the light spot with respect to the detection element.

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