Gain characterization and passive modelocking of electrically pumped VECSELs.

Linear and nonlinear gain characterization of electrically pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers (EP-VECSELs) is presented with spectrally resolved measurements of the gain and with gain saturation measurements of two EP-VECSEL samples with different field enhancement in the quantum-well gain layers. The spectral bandwidth, small-signal gain and saturation fluence of the devices are compared. Using the sample with the larger bandwidth, we have demonstrated the shortest pulses generated from a passively modelocked EP-VECSEL to date. With a low-saturation-fluence SESAM for passive modelocking we have achieved 9.5-ps pulses with 7.6 mW average output power at a repetition rate of 1.4 GHz. With a higher output coupler transmission the pulse duration was increased to 31 ps with an average output power of 13.6 mW. The pulses were chirped mainly due to the group delay dispersion (GDD) introduced by the intermediate DBR, which compensates the optical loss in the structure.

[1]  Ursula Keller,et al.  Femtosecond high-power quantum dot vertical external cavity surface emitting laser. , 2011, Optics express.

[2]  U. Keller,et al.  High precision optical characterization of semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) , 2008, 2008 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and 2008 Conference on Quantum Electronics and Laser Science.

[3]  L. Frantz,et al.  Theory of Pulse Propagation in a Laser Amplifier , 1963 .

[4]  M. Kuznetsov,et al.  High-power (>0.5-W CW) diode-pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers with circular TEM/sub 00/ beams , 1997, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[5]  V. Wittwer,et al.  High-power MIXSEL: an integrated ultrafast semiconductor laser with 6.4 W average power. , 2010, Optics express.

[6]  John G. McInerney,et al.  Novel 980-nm and 490-nm light sources using vertical-cavity lasers with extended coupled cavities , 2003, SPIE OPTO.

[7]  Adrian H. Quarterman,et al.  A passively mode-locked external-cavity semiconductor laser emitting 60-fs pulses , 2009 .

[8]  U. Keller.  Recent developments in compact ultrafast lasers , 2003, Nature.

[9]  E. Ippen,et al.  Picosecond pulse generation from passively modelocked vertical cavity diode laser at up to 15 GHz pulse repetition rate , 2004 .

[10]  U. Keller,et al.  2.1 Ultrafast solid-state lasers , 2007 .

[11]  M. Golling,et al.  Electrically Pumped Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers Suitable for Passive Modelocking , 2011, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[12]  Ursula Keller,et al.  Optical characterization of semiconductor saturable absorbers , 2004 .

[13]  Aram Mooradian,et al.  High-power surface emitting semiconductor laser with extended vertical compound cavity , 2003 .

[14]  K. Weingarten,et al.  Semiconductor saturable absorber mirror structures with low saturation fluence , 2005 .

[15]  U. Keller,et al.  Soliton-like pulse-shaping mechanism in passively mode-locked surface-emitting semiconductor lasers , 2003, CLEO 2003.

[16]  Stephan W Koch,et al.  Passively modelocked VECSEL emitting 682 fs pulses with 5.1W of average output power , 2012 .

[17]  I. Krestnikov,et al.  VECSEL gain characterization. , 2012, Optics express.

[18]  D. T. Childs,et al.  Tradeoffs in the Realization of Electrically Pumped Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers , 2011, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[19]  F. Kärtner,et al.  Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAM's) for femtosecond to nanosecond pulse generation in solid-state lasers , 1996 .

[20]  Ursula Keller,et al.  Ultrafast solid-state laser oscillators: a success story for the last 20 years with no end in sight , 2010 .

[21]  U. Keller,et al.  On the design of electrically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers , 2008 .

[22]  M. Golling,et al.  First experimental verification of soliton-like pulse-shaping mechanisms in passively mode-locked VECSELs , 2009, CLEO/Europe - EQEC 2009 - European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and the European Quantum Electronics Conference.

[23]  Ursula Keller,et al.  Passively modelocked surface-emitting semiconductor lasers , 2006 .

[24]  E. Ippen,et al.  Passively modelocked vertical extended cavity surface emitting diode laser , 2003 .

[25]  M. Golling,et al.  Vertical integration of ultrafast semiconductor lasers , 2007, 2008 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and 2008 Conference on Quantum Electronics and Laser Science.

[26]  M. Golling,et al.  Timing Jitter Characterization of a Free-Running SESAM Mode-locked VECSEL , 2011, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[27]  M. Weyers,et al.  Pulse repetition rate up to 92 GHz or pulse duration shorter than 110 fs from a mode-locked semiconductor disk laser , 2011 .