Abstract: This thesis presents an actively mode-locked diode laser as the source of an optical frequency comb with a bandwidth of at least 200 GHz. A mode-locked laser is composed of a broadband spectrum of discrete frequencies -a comb -that interferes, generating a pulsed laser output. The spectral width of the comb is inversely proportional to the temporal pulse width. In this research, an external cavity is introduced to a diode laser, and the laser's gain medium is directly modulated using an RF signal. Using a Michelson interferometer for autocorrelation measurements, pulses as short as 10 ps have been observed. A scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer was constructed to directly observe the comb, but implementation has not been successful due to alignment difficulties. It is believed that pulses as short as 1 ps could eventually be generated, corresponding to a comb width of between 318 THz and 1 THz. When completed, the optical frequency comb will be used to make precision optical frequency measurements in the Ultra-cold Atomic, Molecular and Optical physics laboratory. -2 - Acknowledgements With the sincerest gratitude I can offer, I would like to thank the following people: Dr. Set
