Gain-Switching Diode Lasers for Low-cost Picosecond Pulses*

Ultra-fast lasers have shown themselves to be useful both for their short pulse duration and their possibility of high light intensity. However, their cost of production is often too high for primarily undergraduate institutions. 

In this presentation, we will discuss the progress already made on gain-switching diode lasers, a low cost method of producing 50 - 100 picoseconds pulses. In this technique, the drive current is turned on and off via electronic modulation to obtained the required duration.The advantages and disadvantages of this method will be dicussed, as well as its applications.