Fundamental and Subharmonic Hybrid Mode-Locking of a High-Power (220 mW) Monolithic Semiconductor Laser

We report on the generation of stable optical pulses at 1.55- mum wavelength via fundamental and subharmonic hybrid mode-locking of a high-power electrically pumped semiconductor diode laser with a slab-coupled optical waveguide structure. The highest average power measured in mode-locked operation was 220 mW. This is the highest power reported for a hybrid mode-locked monolithic semiconductor laser. We also measure the phase (or timing) noise during fundamental and subharmonic operation and our measurements show good agreement with theory.