Abstract

Linewidth narrowing of the radio frequency beat-tones and the optical-modes is experimentally investigated in a ∼40 GHz quantum-dash mode-locked laser diode subject to optical injection of 10 GHz pulses. In comparison to the 75 kHz linewidth exhibited by the beat-tones in passive mode-locking conditions, a remarkable reduction to less than 8 Hz is achieved when the laser is under optical injection. From this beat-tone signal, an integrated root-mean-square timing jitter of 64 fs is calculated. In addition, a quadratic profile of the optical linewidth with the wavelength is observed in active locking, reaching a minimum of 1:7 MHz for the longitudinal modes around 1530 nm and progressively increasing to 37:4 MHz for modes at 1525 nm.