HIGH REPETITION RATE OPERATION OF BISTABLE LASER-DIODES

We obtained a bistable laser diode with a saturable absorber operating at a high repetition rate. The laser was made with a semi-insulating layer, which realised low carrier density in the reset region and low parasitic capacitance (3 pF over 300-mu-m). Low carrier density in the reset region where there is high differential gain (loss) reduces the carrier density changes caused by electrical reset and optical set signals. These enable flip-flop operation at a 2.5 Gb/s repetition rate.