Experimental characterization and numerical simulations of dispersion-managed breathing-mode semiconductor mode-locked ring laser

Strong self-phase modulation (SPM) in semiconductor gain media induces nonlinear chirp impressed on propagating pulses, which can be difficult to compensate. Our approach is to employ an intracavity dispersion management scheme to decrease the detrimental effect of SPM by utilizing the concept of chirped pulse amplification inside a laser cavity. Stretching the pulse before the cavity gain element minimizes SPM and extracts energy more efficiently. The subsequently compressed pulse bleaches the semiconductor saturable absorber (SA) more easily. The breathing-mode semiconductor mode-locked ring laser regime describes how the pulse alternately experiences stretching and compression while propagating within the ring cavity.