Measurement of spectral dynamics in single quantum well lasers

Long wavelength semiconductor lasers have been extensively developed for use in long distance telecommunications networks [1]. For applications which do not require propagation over long distances, short wavelength GaAs based lasers remain a viable option for the optical source. Using this material system, quantum well lasers have been developed which show improved performance in threshold current, linewidth, and power over bulk 3-D lasers. In this paper, we describe a measurement system designed to examine spectral dynamics in semiconductor lasers and present representative results from GaAs single quantum well lasers. © 1990 SPIE.