What is "mode-locking"

Mode-locking is a technique in optics by which a laser can be made to produce pulses of light of extremely short duration, on the order of picoseconds (10 s) or femtoseconds (10 s).

The basis of the technique is to induce a fixed- phase relationship between the longitudinal modes of the laser's resonant cavity. The laser is then said to be 'phase-locked' or 'mode-locked'. Interference between these modes causes the laser light to be produced as a train of pulses. Depending on the properties of the laser, these pulses may be of extremely brief duration, as short as a few femtoseconds.