Speaker
Mr
Johannes Hillbrand
(TU Wien)
Description
Quantum cascade lasers (QCL) are a compact and electrically pumped source of coherent mid-infrared light. Recently, it was discovered that QCLs can operate as frequency combs whose output is characterized by suppression of amplitude modulation and strong frequency modulation. However, the generation of short pulses by mode-locking of mid-infrared QCLs remains challenging to date due to their ultrafast gain dynamics. We report on active mode-locking of mid-infrared QCLs resulting in the emission of intense picosecond pulses. We investigate the temporal dynamics of the QCL using both linear and quadratic autocorrelation techniques. Both methods confirm independently that the QCL emits a train of isolated pulses.
Authors
Mr
Johannes Hillbrand
(TU Wien)
Aaron Maxwell Andrews
(TU Wien)
Hermann Detz
(TU Wien)
Harald Schneider
(Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden)
Gottfried Strasser
(TU Wien)
Federico Capasso
(Harvard University)
Benedikt Schwarz
(TU Wien)
