On-Chip Colliding Pulse Mode-locked laser diode (OCCP-MLLD) using multimode interference reflectors

Abstract

We report the achievement of colliding pulse mode-locked (CPM) regimes on a novel on-chip mode locked laser diode (OCCP-MLLD). The advantage of the resonator structure that we present is that the end-mirrors are defined through multimode interference reflectors (MIRs), which provide precise control of the cavity length avoiding the need for cleaved facets. This simplifies positioning the saturable absorber at the center of the resonator to achieve the colliding pulse mode-locked regime and double the repetition rate, reaching the millimeter wave frequency range. An additional advantage is that the pulsed output is delivered within the Photonic Integrated Circuit chip for further processing (i.e. modulation). We demonstrate a colliding pulse passive mode locked regime with pulse widths below a picosecond (Δτ = 0.64 ps), timing jitter σT = 75 fs and amplitude noise NAM = 0.012 dBc. The samples were fabricated in a generic InP foundry service through multi-project wafer (MPW) runs.