Gain switching of waveguide laser based on Nd-doped silica planar lightwave circuit pumped by laser diodes

A gain-switched Nd-doped silica waveguide laser pumped by laser diodes (LDs) was successfully realized. The light from two CW operated and modulated LDs was synthesized and used to investigate gain switching characteristics under various pump conditions. Pulses with a peak power of 1.0 mW and a full width at half maximum of 480 ns were obtained at a repetition rate of 150 kHz. The average modulated pump power was 17 mW and the bias pump power was 35 mW. A gain-switched pulse repetition rate of 25 to 150 kHz was achieved by controlling the pump power of a CW operated and a modulated LD.<
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