Theoretical analysis of timing jitter in monolithic multisection mode-locked DBR laser diodes

We present a theoretical analysis of the timing jitter in monolithic multisection mode-locked DBR lasers which is shown to agree well with experimental measurements. The analysis uses a traveling-wave equation model with Langevin spontaneous emission noise and includes the important physical effects of gain nonlinearities, self-phase modulation, and the presence of DBR filtering. It is found that spontaneous noise limits low-jitter operation. The impact of frequency detuning on the timing jitter is studied and the effects of laser parameters, such as linewidth enhancement factor and gain section length, are discussed for achieving low-jitter pulses.