Abstract

Modelocked-integrated-external-cavity-surface-emitting-lasers (MIXSELs), the integration of a vertical-external-cavity-surface-emitting-laser (VECSEL) and a semiconductor-saturable-absorber-mirror (SESAM), enable modelocking with a simple straight cavity [1] which offers great prospective for wafer-scale fabrication and operation at high repetition rates. Compact MIXSELs with high power and excellent beam quality have a high potential for numerous applications as well as the optical clocking of multi-core microprocessors. Inside the MIXSEL chip, the beam diameters on gain and absorber layers are the same (1:1 modelocking). For achieving stable modelocking, the absorber has to saturate faster than the gain. This was achieved by using one QD-saturable absorber layer placed in a resonant field enhancement of the MIXSEL. However, such resonant design leads to high group delay dispersion and sensitivity towards growth errors, it explained the relatively long pulse duration of the first MIXSEL (32 ps, [1]). A n antiresonant MIXSEL design has low dispersion and would enable high growth tolerance which is important for the manufacturing requirements of large scale applications.

© 2009 IEEE