Autocorrelation and ultrafast optical thresholding at 1.5 mu m using a commercial InGaAsP 1.3 mu m laser diode

Two-photon absorption in a commercial InGaAsP 1.3 /spl mu/m Fabry-Perot laser diode has been used for autocorrelation measurements of picosecond pulses at 1.5 /spl mu/m with average power peak-power products as low as 0.15/spl times/10/sup -3/ (mW)/sup 2/. The laser diode has also been observed to possess a sub-nanosecond electrical response suitable for optical thresholding applications.