Study of passive mode locking of semiconductor lasers using time-domain modeling

Large signal dynamics of passive mode locking of semiconductor lasers is studied in the time domain. A two-section structure is modeled by numerical evaluation of the traveling wave rate equations. The results show simultaneous occurrence of mode locking and self-pulsation over a large parameter range. Typical transient time for mode locking is about 0.2–1.0 ns, and pulse widths of 1.5–8 ps are observed.