Passively Mode-Locked Lasers With Integrated Chirped Bragg Grating Reflectors

Passively mode-locked laser devices are presented incorporating chirped distributed Bragg reflectors. The Bragg grating sections consist of post-growth, sidewall relief, tapered gratings, offering continuous chirp and modulation of the coupling coefficient. Blue-chirped gratings are found to compensate for the pulse chirp accumulated in the laser gain and absorption sections. Pulses are measured with the largest 3 dB bandwidths, up to 2.3 nm, and smallest pulsewidths, 1.49 ps, achieved in passively mode-locked DBR lasers.