MODELING THE PROPAGATION OF ULTRAFAST OPTICAL PULSES IN A SEMICONDUCTOR MIRROR AND MICROCAVITIES

Fourier methods are used to model the propagation of ultrashort pulses of light through GaAs/AlGaAs micro-cavities. Resonance effects are se en in the time dependence of field amplitude in the cavity, with the e lectric-field amplitude in the cavity center increasing in a similar t ime to the pulse duration but then decaying at a much slower rate, wit h a longer decay time for more reflective distributed Bragg mirrors, i n agreement with experimental measurements. Two separate sets of novel transient peaks are quantitatively studied. Pulses longer than 100 fs produce peaks with decreasing period for increased detuning between p ulse wavelength and cavity length. Shorter pulses with spectral conten t broader than the range of wavelengths for which the mirrors are high ly reflective show transient peaks with period independent of detuning . These peaks could affect a wide range of experiments using ultrafast pulses to study microcavities. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America. [ S0740-3224(98)02105-5].