ULTRAFAST OPERATION OF OPTICALLY PUMPED RESONANT PERIODIC GAIN GAAS SURFACE EMITTING LASERS

Generation and characterization of picosecond optical pulses from vertical-cavity resonant-periodic-gain GaAs-AlGaAs surface-emitting lasers optically pumped by picosecond dye-laser pulses is reported. The output pulseshape was obtained from the cross correlation of pump and signal pulses. Dependence of signal pulsewidth and pulse delay on pump power were investigated. The results are in good agreement with a simple rate equation model of the pulse formation. A cavity lifetime of 8.3 ps, compared with a gain medium transit time of approximately 0.1 ps, is determined for this very high-Q structure.