Characterization of Gain-Switched Pulses From 1.55-$\mu$m VCSEL

We report on short optical pulse generation by gain-switching (GS) a low-cost commercial vertical-cavity surface- emitting laser emitting at 1.55 $\mu\hbox{m}$ . The dependence of pulse characteristics on GS parameters is investigated and analyzed. Pulses with duration of 55 ps and time-bandwidth product between 0.91 and 2.2 are obtained at repetition rates between 1 and 3 GHz.