Injection of a weak cw radiation in a Q‐switched AlGaAs laser diode is shown to produce single‐mode pulses with a quasi‐linear downchirp of very large amplitude. Strong pulse compression can be achieved by using single‐mode dispersive fibers at the laser output. Time‐resolved spectroscopic measurements of the laser pulses are presented. Optical solitary pulses shorter than 2 ps are obtained after compression, which corresponds to a pulse compression factor larger than 15. Although the laser‐fiber coupling is not fully optimized, peak powers exceeding 3 W are measured at the fiber output. These performances are believed to be the best ever reported for an electrically pumped Q‐switched AlGaAs laser diode.

Topics
Thermodynamic properties, Lasers
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© 1991 American Institute of Physics.
1991
American Institute of Physics
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