Q-Switched Semiconductor Lasers as Sources for Optical Frequency Comb Generation

Abstract

Q-switching is a well-known technique which can be applied to produce high peak-power and short duration optical pulses from different types of laser sources. It consists in modulating the losses of the laser cavity, either actively or passively, in such a way that the power accumulated during the off time, when the losses are high, is released during a short time interval when the losses are low. Q-switching in semiconductor lasers has been previously studied and simulated using a rate-equation model (REM) [1], but as far as we know it has never been applied to optical frequency comb (OFC) generation.