High peak power femtosecond pulses from modelocked semiconductor laser in external cavity

The generation of high peak power femtosecond pulses from an all semiconductor laser system is demonstrated. The system is based on a passively modelocked two-section laser diode in an external cavity, a tapered amplifier and a compact external pulse compressor. Pulse durations are achieved below 600 fs with an average optical power above 500 mW at a repetition rate of 330 MHz. This corresponds to a peak power of 2.5 kW, which is the highest value reported for an all semiconductor ultrafast laser system so far.