Instability of stationary lasing and self-starting mode locking in external-cavity semiconductor lasers

Parameters of external-cavity semiconductor lasers, when the stationary lasing becomes unstable, were analysed within the framework of a theoretical model of self-starting mode locking. In this case, a train of ultrashort pulses can be generated due to intrinsic nonlinearities of the laser medium. A decisive role of the transverse optical field nonuniformity, pump rate, and gain spectral bandwidth in the development of the instability of stationary lasing was demonstrated.