Abstract

We analyze the dynamic response of a quantum-well Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) after optical excitation by femtosecond pulses. For this purpose, a self-consistent treatment of medium and light properties in the VCSEL is necessary since the carriers, which are generated in the active medium of a VCSEL, do not only interact with themselves and the lattice but also with the electromagnetic field in the microcavity. This carrier-photon interaction is of the same order of magnitude as the carrier-carrier and carrier-phonon interaction. Furthermore, the photon density of states is altered appreciably in the high-Q resonator. In our approach all these effects are treated consistently by a quantum mechanical non-equilibrium theory [1].

© 1996 IEEE