Apparatus comprising optical pulse-generating means

Claim 1

Apparatus comprising means for generating optical pulses, said means comprising a semiconductor body comprising integrated optical waveguide means extending between first and second reflecting means, electrical contact means overlying at least a portion of said optical waveguide means, and means for applying electrical power to the electrical contact means; the apparatus further comprising means for utilizing the optical pulses generated by the means for generating optical pulses; characterized in that a) the means for generating optical pulses are colliding pulse-type means; b) the integrated optical waveguide means comprises a first and a second section and a "saturable absorber" section, the latter being located intermediate the first and second reflecting means and essentially symmetrical thereto; c) the first and second sections have substantially equal length and are located intermediate the saturable absorber section and the first and second reflecting means, respectively; and d) said electrical contact means comprise electrode means that overlie said saturable absorber section and electrode means that overlie said first and second sections, respectively, such that, if electrical power is applied to said contact means, at least one pair of counter-propagating optical pulses can be formed essentially simultaneously in the integrated waveguide means and can collide in the saturable absorber section.