Dynamics of dual-wavelength emission from a coupled semiconductor microcavity laser

We present an experimental demonstration of the dynamics of dual-wavelength emission from a coupled semiconductor microcavity laser after femtosecond optical excitation at 20 K. The coupled microcavity laser is comprised of two lambda sized Al0.2Ga0.8As/Al0.5Ga0.5As cavities, separated by a common mirror. The bottom cavity contains three 10 nm thick GaAs quantum wells (QWs) whereas the top cavity contains three 16 nm thick GaAs QWs. Time-resolved measurements of the stimulated emission show pulses as short as 4.8 ps (10 ps) and peak delays as short as 13 ps (16 ps) for the shorter (longer) emission wavelength. Fast pulse fall times of 1 ps are observed for the pulses of the shorter emission wavelength which can be explained by the simultaneous interaction of the two photon modes with both gain regions of the two types of QWs. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.