Monolithic colliding pulse mode-locked lasers

Abstract

The generation of transform-limited optical pulses at 1.5-μm wavelength is important for high bit rate time-division multiplexed communication systems. The broad gain spectrum of semiconductor quantum wells (~1000 Å) promises the generation of optical pulses as short as 100 fs. Traditionally, short optical pulses are produced using semiconductor lasers with external cavities1 and tandem contacts.2 It is desirable to have a monolithic version of the mode-locked source, which operates in either of the 1.3 or 1.5-μm band for optical fiber transmission.