Explanation of Timing Jitter Mechanisms in Multisegment Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers

Dennis J. Derickson, Hewlett-Packard

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Copyright © 1993 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE. The definitive version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LEOS.1993.379049.

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Dennis Derickson was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

Abstract

Multisegment mode-locked semiconductor lasers offer a simple, high performance solution for short pulse generation. Six mode-locking techniques used in multisegment mode-locked semiconductor lasers are shown. This paper concentrates on a theoretical explanation of the timing jitter mechanisms in these lasers with supporting experimental measurements. The analysis covers passive, hybrid, and active mode-locking techniques for both monolithic and external cavity devices. Timing jitter is a very important system consideration for most applications of mode-locked lasers.