High peak power picosecond light pulses from a directly modulated semiconductor laser

We report the generation of short light pulses of 23-ps duration from an unbiased proton implanted double heterostructure cw laser by direct gain modulation. Repetition frequencies up to 10 MHz and a typical peak power of 300 mW are achieved. The time behavior of the light output is largely independent of the rise and fall time of the modulation current, since the first relaxation oscillation of the laser is utilized.