Ultrashort Pulse and High Power Mode-Locked Laser With Chirped InAs/InP Quantum Dot Active Layers

We demonstrate an ultrashort pulse and high power single-section mode-locked laser using chirped multiple InAs/InP quantum dot (QD) layers as the active region of the laser. The chirped QD active region consists of seven layers of InAs QDs of different heights, which is beneficial in broadening the material gain spectrum. A transform-limited Gaussian pulse with a pulse duration of 322 fs is obtained from a device of 1 mm in length. Moreover, the femtosecond pulse with highest peak power of 6.8 W is achieved for the 45.5-GHz mode-locked laser. These results show the potential of the mode-locked laser for femtosecond pulse generation with high peak power and high repetition rate in the 1.55-μm wavelength band.