Automated phase sensing and control of an external Talbot cavity laser with phase-contrast imaging.

We describe a novel phase-sensing and control system, based on phase-contrast imaging, operating within a linear external cavity laser consisting of 18 GaAlAs edge-emitting gain stripes. The system is used to achieve single-spatial-mode operation and diffraction-limited output from the linear cavity, which uses diffractive coupling at a Talbot plane to achieve coherent operation.