Abstract

Recent experiments using diode lasers subject to strong external injection [1] have shown that adding a small reference current modulation to the dc-bias current can easily lock the oscillations frequency of the laser to the reference frequency. Tunable outputs oscillating at stable frequencies from 9.5 to 13.1 GHz have been obtained. These remarkable performances result from the fact that the laser relaxation oscillation frequency depends on the injection strength at high injection rates A first analysis of the laser rate equations gives expressions for the locking domain in terms of the modulation amplitude δ, the modulation frequency ω, and the injection strength η [2]. See Figs. 1, 2.

© 2000 IEEE