Wavelength tunable source of subpicosecond pulses from CW passively mode-locked two-section multiple-quantum-well laser

A wavelength-tunable passively-mode-locked semiconductor laser source of subpicosecond pulses is demonstrated. The system includes a two-section multiple-quantum-well laser which is coupled to an external grating for tuning and is followed by an external grating pair for pulse compression. A tuning range of 16 nm round 846 nm is obtained, resulting in compressed pulse widths as short as 260 fs and pulse widths shorter than 600 fs for all wavelength values within this tuning range. Time-bandwidth products are one to two times the transform limit