Abstract

Mode-locked semiconductor lasers have long been predicted to be a key technology for mass-market applications of a broad range of non-linear optical techniques. Edge-emitting laser diodes are especially interesting in this regard, as the potential for re-use of proven and mature material systems for continuous wave (CW) high-power applications is straightforward. Nevertheless, optical bandwidths of such devices have not been competitive in comparison to conventional sources [1]. This limits the pulse width, and thereby peak power, of the pulses emitted. Attenuation of the gain maximum [2], as well as resonator-internal dispersion management [3] have been used to provide bandwidth improvement in previous works. In this work, an evolutionary algorithm is used to optimize for pulse emission with maximum spectral bandwidth using a combination of phase- and amplitude masks. Modes of operation with a varying amount of linear chirp are obtained.

© 2015 IEEE