Locking characteristics of a subharmonically hybrid mode-locked multisection semiconductor laser

Locking characteristics of a subharmonically hybrid mode-locked (SH-ML) semiconductor laser are investigated experimentally. The locking bandwidths under the second- and third-order SH-ML operation, as well as under fundamental hybrid mode-locking (FH-ML) condition, are characterized with a variety of microwave power and reverse bias voltage applied to the saturable absorber of the laser. Unique locking characteristics are observed for the third-order SH-ML where the locking bandwidth increases with increasing reverse bias, which is opposite to the FH-ML case. This leads to a locking bandwidth of 56 MHz, 2.3 times broader than that for the FH-ML under the shortest pulse condition.