Pulse Dynamics in Mode-locked Lasers
Mode-locked lasers produce ultrashort pulses of light. The pulse circulating inside a mode-locked laser experiences the effects of nonlinearity, dispersion and gain/loss. The interplay between these determine the properties of the output pulse train. The development of techniques to track the phase evolution of the pulses is driving efforts to improve the understanding of pulse dynamics in mode-locked lasers. I will present experimental results on characterizing mode-locked lasers and their output pulse train and compare to theoretical results.
Steven Cundiff, JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado