Polarization-resolved low-frequency noise in GaAlAs lasers

Low-frequency intensity noise displaying 1/
f
dependency of the light polarized parallel and perpendicular to the junction plane and the correlation between these noise components is investigated in GaAlAs diode lasers. The absolute noise level for the component polarized parallel to the junction (lasing component) rises about 40 dB as the current passes through lasing threshold, while the noise for the orthogonal polarization drops by about 5 dB. The two noise components are well correlated slightly below threshold (coherence function ∼ 0.9), but the coherence function drops rapidly to near zero above threshold. An exception to this behavior occurs in the lasing mode when mode hopping takes place, when the two noise components are well correlated. A qualitative explanation for these phenomena is based on the relation between spontaneous and stimulated emission rates and fluctuations in the intracavity carrier density.