近日，香港大学向超团队报道了谐振腔增强分布式布拉格反射激光器。相关论文发表在2026年3月3日出版的《光：科学与应用》杂志上。

窄线宽激光器是先进光通信、精密计量和微波光子学的关键器件。为满足低成本、大批量制造的需求，学界对高相干性光源的集成化平台产生了浓厚兴趣。然而，现有最先进的集成低噪声激光器从根本上受到线宽、可调谐性和操作鲁棒性之间权衡关系的制约，往往牺牲其中一项指标以换取其他性能。

研究组介绍并实验验证了一类新型集成激光器——谐振器增强型分布式布拉格反射激光器，它克服了上述限制，同时实现了超窄线宽、宽范围无跳模调谐以及通用即用型操作。RE-DBR激光器结构包含一个光栅辅助的环形谐振器，该谐振器作为紧凑型外腔，提供窄带光反馈以实现单波长激射。重要的是，谐振器增强效应使得RE-DBR激光器能够规避传统DBR激光器固有的线宽与可调谐性之间的权衡。此外，与自注入锁定激光器不同，RE-DBR激光器在宽电流调谐范围内保持高光学相干性和稳定运行，实现了鲁棒、即用型的性能。

作为概念验证，研究组展示了一款RE-DBR激光器，其洛伦兹线宽为24赫兹，无跳模调谐范围为34吉赫兹，并具备通用即用型操作性，而这一切仅通过一个加载品质因数为56万、占地面积小于4平方毫米的外腔实现。这些成果确立了RE-DBR激光器作为一种成本效益高、性能卓越的集成式替代方案，有望取代体积庞大且昂贵的台式激光器，推动电信、传感和计量等众多应用领域的发展。

附：英文原文

Title: Resonator-enhanced distributed Bragg reflector lasers

Author: Yu, Di, Geng, Zhaoting, Huang, Yuhao, Tong, Yitian, Xia, Yu, Liu, Mingfei, Huang, Yaoran, Xiang, Chao

Issue&Volume: 2026-03-03

Abstract: Narrow-linewidth lasers are pivotal components for advanced optical communications, precision metrology, and microwave photonics. The drive towards low-cost, high-volume manufacturing has fueled intense interest in integrated platforms for high-coherence optical sources. However, state-of-the-art integrated low-noise lasers are fundamentally constrained by trade-offs between linewidth, tunability, and operational robustness, often sacrificing one to achieve the others. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a new class of integrated lasers—resonator-enhanced distributed Bragg reflector (RE-DBR) lasers—that overcome these limitations, simultaneously achieving ultra-narrow linewidths, wide mode-hop-free tunability, and universal turnkey operation. The RE-DBR laser architecture incorporates a grating-assisted ring resonator that serves as a compact external cavity, providing narrow-band optical feedback to enable single-wavelength lasing. Importantly, the resonator enhancement enables RE-DBR lasers to circumvent the traditional linewidth-tunability trade-off inherent to conventional DBR lasers. Furthermore, unlike self-injection-locked lasers, RE-DBR lasers maintain high optical coherence and stable operation across a broad current tuning range, enabling robust, turnkey performance. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a RE-DBR laser with a 24Hz Lorentzian linewidth, 34GHz mode-hop-free tuning range, and universal turnkey operability, all realized with an external cavity of only 0.56 million loaded Q and a sub-4mm2 footprint. These results establish RE-DBR lasers as a cost-effective, high-performance integrated alternative to bulky, expensive benchtop lasers, enabling advancement in a wide variety of applications including telecommunications, sensing, and metrology.

DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02249-x

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-026-02249-x