Cavity length control for Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers with µm precision

In highly dispersion compensated Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers, an ultra-low noise operation can only be achieved by extremely precise and stable matching of the filter tuning period and light circulation time in the cavity. We present a robust and high precision closed-loop control algorithm and an actively cavity length controlled FDML laser. The cavity length control achieves a stability of ∼0.18 mHz at a sweep repetition rate of ∼418 kHz which corresponds to a ratio of 4×10⁻¹⁰. Furthermore, we prove that the rapid change of the cavity length has no negative impact on the quality of optical coherence tomography using the FDML laser as light source.