Line narrowed picosecond optical pulse generation using three contact InGaAsP/InP multiquantum well distributed feedback laser under gain switching

Abstract
A three contact multiquantum well (MQW) distributed feedback (DFB) laser has been gain switched to generate tunable picosecond optical pulses with substantially reduced chirp (as low as 0.6Å) when compared with that possible using equivalent single contact devices. This spectral performance is achieved by using the central device region to control the wavelength of the picosecond pulses generated through modulation of the end contacts. Near Fourier limited duration-bandwidth products as low as 0.26 are observed.