SELF-PULSATING LASERS WITH QUANTUM-WELL SATURABLE ABSORBER

Self-pulsations are induced in broad area diode lasers by including an extra layer functioning as a saturable absorber. The absorption of th is layer and its coupling to the photon field can be tuned via the lay er thickness and its distance to the active layer. In the case of an A l0.13GaAs bulk active layer a GaAs absorber of 4 nm thickness at a dis tance of 0.2 mu m induces stable oscillations with frequencies of 300- 700 MHz in a current range just above the threshold. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.