Abstract

The advantages of self-assembled quantum dot (QD) materials can be exploited in multisection mode-locked (ML) lasers which are able to generate stable high intensity picoseconds and sub-picosecond pulses [1]. In this work, we study experimentally and theoretically, strongly asymmetric ML pulses generated by an edge-emitting QD ML laser consisting of a reverse biased saturable absorber (SA) and a forward biased gain section. To describe dynamics of this device we use the traveling wave model [2], which takes into account carrier exchange between the carrier reservoir (CR), ground state (GS), and excited state (ES) of the QDs [3].

© 2011 Optical Society of America