Tunable dual-wavelength operation of an external cavity semiconductor laser

Tunable dual-wavelength operation of a laser diode has been achieved using a dual-period holographic element. The holographic element was positioned in Littrow configuration in an external cavity. The design of this holographic element was based on the superposition of a constant-period grating and a variable-period grating on the same location in a photoresist. We observed simultaneous emission at two wavelengths from a visible semiconductor laser operated with this holographic element. The spectral separation of the dual-wavelength output was varied from 0.76 to 6.27 nm by a simple translation of the holographic element.