Supermode stabilized coupled-cavity 5- and 10-GHz mode-locked Ti:Er:LiNbO/sub 3/ waveguide lasers

By coupling the active laser cavity to a passive low-finesse Fabry-Perot resonator, supermode stabilization of mode-locked Ti:Er:LiNbO/sub 3/ waveguide lasers for 5- and 10-GHz pulse repetition rates with side mode suppression ratios of 60 and 55 dB has been achieved. The 10-GHz source emits pulses with a pulsewidth of 5.7 ps and a time-bandwidth product lower than 0.52 within an RF frequency tuning range of 3.2 MHz. The 5-GHz source has been used in a 2/spl times/5 Gbit/s soliton transmitter. In a back-to-back measurement, a Q-factor of 25.1 dB has been obtained. In soliton transmission experiments over 160 km on a step-index fiber, an extrapolated bit error rate of 6/spl middot/10/sup -17/ has been measured. The passive cavity can serve also as a pulse repetition rate multiplier. Pulse repetition rate multiplication from 2.5 to 10 GHz has been demonstrated.