Transient response of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers of different active-region diameters

The multimode dynamics of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with different active-region diameters was measured under subnanosecond electrical excitation (800-ps pulse duration, 100-ps risetime). The dynamics is characterized by the delayed onset of higher order modes which have a turn-on delay that is dependent on the active-region diameter and the excitation parameters. A simple model that can be used to estimate this turn-on delay for large-area devices is presented. Polarization-resolved measurements show that, under this fast excitation condition, both orthogonal polarization states are isomorphic. The influence of the observed dynamics on the relative intensity noise of these devices is also discussed.