Abstract
We present a linear self-referenced measurement of the spectral amplitude and phase of a free-running quantum-dash modelocked laser diode. The technique is suitable for measuring optical signals with repetition rates up to 100 GHz. In contrast to many other linear techniques it requires no external electronic clock synchronized to the signal under test. Using this method we are able to compensate for the intracavity dispersion of the diode to demonstrate 500 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 39.8 GHz. We also use the technique to characterize the dependence of the diode's intracavity dispersion on the applied current.
Highlights
Modelocked laser diodes have the ability to generate sub-picosecond optical pulses at very high repetition rates
We present a linear self-referenced measurement of the spectral amplitude and phase of a free-running quantum-dash modelocked laser diode
We have used the measurement to characterize the intracavity dispersion of the laser as a function of injection current
Summary
Modelocked laser diodes have the ability to generate sub-picosecond optical pulses at very high repetition rates. In this letter we report on the measurement of the spectral amplitude and phase of the output of a free-running quantum-dash modelocked laser diode (QD-MLLD). This measurement allows the complete characterization of the temporal and spectral properties of the device. We show how the addition of an electronic local oscillator to the setup allows the measurement of signals with repetition rates up to 100 GHz. Previous measurements of the spectral amplitude and phase of quantum-dash and quantum-dot modelocked laser diodes have been reported using both linear [4,5,6] and nonlinear techniques [7,8,9]. This, in addition to the high sensitivity possible with a heterodyne measurement, makes it ideally suited to the measurement of free-running modelocked laser diodes
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