Active mode locking of double heterostructure lasers in an external cavity

Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1981 · J. Appl. Phys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.329358· OSTI ID:6285052

van der Ziel, J P

Proton bombarded stripe geometry lasers have been actively mode locked in an external cavity consisting of a lens, a Fabry-Perot etalon, and a mirror. Under optimized conditions, pulses as short as 5.3 psec have been observed from measurement of the second harmonic autocorrelation function. The dependence of the pulse width on external parameters was studied in detail. The pulse width t/sub 1/2/ decreases with increasing direct current. The functional dependence of the pulse width on current indicates that a saturable absorption mechanism is present in the laser which causes significant pulse shortening. The pulse width decreases with increasing rf current. The pulse width is a sensitive function of the frequency detuning of the applied rf current. The shortest pulses are observed when the applied frequency is less than the round trip frequency of the pulse in the cavity. The frequency dependence of the pulse width was obtained using a long cavity with multiple pulses in the cavity. The shortest pulses occur between 0.9 and 1.4 GHz. The Fabry-Perot etalon limits the emission to a 1.9-A spectral band. At optimum mode locking the band is approx.30 A below the peak of the multimode emission obtained without the etalon. The shift of the gain curve to lower enery indicates that additional loss is introduced by the feedback from the external cavity. The experimental results are shown to be in good agreement with a theoretical description of mode locking.

• Research Organization: Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
• OSTI ID: 6285052
• Journal Information: J. Appl. Phys.; (United States), Vol. 52:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS
LASER CAVITIES
MODE LOCKING
ABSORPTION
CORRELATIONS
FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETER
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
GEOMETRY
HARMONICS
IRRADIATION
LENSES
MIRRORS
OPTIMIZATION
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
PROTONS
PULSES
TUNING
BARYONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
HADRONS
INTERFEROMETERS
LASERS
MATHEMATICS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NUCLEONS
OSCILLATIONS
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
420300* - Engineering- Lasers- (-1989)