Abstract

We have developed an actively mode-locked laser that utilizes intracavity nonlinear pulse compression to produce a completely filled pulse train with a pulse duration of 1.24 ps at repetition rates in excess of 10 GHz. The laser is driven by an external oscillator, allowing it to be synchronized to a master clock in an optical-fiber communications system. The components of the laser are either polarization-maintaining (PM) or are birefringence-compensated, making the laser insensitive to environmentally induced birefringence variations.

© 1996 Optical Society of America