We generate electromagnetic (EM) waves in a range of few GHz to few THz exploiting passive mode-locking in multimode semiconductor lasers. The beating of the optical modes takes place inside the cavity inducing a change in both gain and refractive index of the cavity. Hence, the amplitude and the phase of each mode are linked to the amplitude and the phase of the others, i.e. mode-locking. The applications of this type of lasers can be various depending of the EM frequency generated. They are mainly in biotechnology and optical communications. We can mention short pulse generation, carrier distribution, clock extraction and RF/THz EM generator.
The main advantage of this technique is to achieved a fast modulation even though the laser is DC biased.
This research is founded by
SFI.