Self-starting mode locking by multi-spatial-mode active waveguiding

We demonstrate a novel principle of self-starting mode locking in a compact semiconductor laser diode. where the needed saturable loss is provided by spatial effects resulting from multi-Spatial-mode active waveguiding. The demonstrated device operates over a 1-54 mu m wavelength range and has a repetition rate of 47 GHz. The pulse width is below 5 ps, and the average power Coupled to the cleaved single-mode fiber is nearly 0 dBm. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America