Abstract

We report picosecond measurements of spontaneous and stimulated emission from injection lasers gain-switched by 90-psec electrical pulses. When the laser is operated below threshold, the time profile of the spontaneous emission (or luminescence) gives directly the carrier concentration as a function of time. Precise knowledge of the latter is essential to understanding the dynamics of laser pulse formation and the limits to high-frequency modulation.

© 1982 Optical Society of America