Abstract

High-power mode-locked semiconductor lasers are required for many applications, such as Mar, spectroscopy, and the pumping of nonlinear optical materials. In conventional narrow-stripe lasers the maximum obtainable power is limited by gain saturation, chirp, and catastrophic optical damage at the facets. Tapered waveguides, used either in external cavities or as postamplifiers, have therefore been used recently to generate high-power mode-locked pulses.^1,2

© 1995 Optical Society of America