SPATIAL HOLEBURNING EFFECTS ON THE DYNAMICS OF VERTICAL-CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING LASER-DIODES

Calculations are reported of the dynamic evolution of transverse modes in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL's), It is shown tha t the spatial distribution of the modal fields plays an important role in determining the steady-state operating characteristics of the devi ce, It is found that spatially separated modes can coexist by sharing the available gain, whereas strong competition occurs between modes th at have a strong spatial overlap, The influence of carrier diffusion a nd spatial holeburning during the turn-on transient of the laser is el ucidated, and the implications for the steady-state modal properties o f the device are indicated.