Combined influence of design and carrier scattering on the ultrafast emission dynamics of quantum well microcavity lasers

Abstract

A microscopic theory for vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting lasers (VCSELs) with quantum‐well active layers is applied to study the transient gain dynamics, nonequilibrium carrier effects and the influence of the laser design. We investigate how the laser response on femtosecond pulse excitation can be controlled in terms of (i) excitation conditions of the VCSEL, (ii) the mirror design, which allows to change the cavity quality and the resonance frequency, and (iii) the number and position of active semiconductor quantum‐wells.