Self-Pulsating Semiconductor Lasers: Theory and Experiment

Open Access

Abstract

C. R. Mirasso et al.- ArXiv Number physics/9906027 ; We report detailed measurements of the pump-current dependency of the self-pulsating frequency of semiconductor CD lasers. A distinct kink in this dependence is found and explained using rate-equation model. The kink denotes a transition between a region where the self-pulsations are weakly sustained relaxation oscillations and a region where Q-switching takes place. Simulations show that spontaneous emission noise plays a crucial role for the cross-over. ; This work was supported by the European Union through the Project HCM CHRXCT94-0594. ; Peer reviewed