Bistability and pulsations in cw semiconductor lasers with a controlled amount of saturable absorption

Abstract

Experimental results of a buried heterostructure cw laser with a controllable amount of saturable absorption introduced by a segmented contact are presented. With no absorption the laser is stable and has a linear output characteristic. Increasing of the saturable absorption by changing the pump current through the control segment causes the light output of the device to pulsate and to show bistable and hysteretical behavior. The introduction of a controllable amount of saturable absorption suggest the usefulness of this device in generating extremely short pulses, for example, by passive mode locking and as a bistable optical device.