Picosecond optical properties of a grating surface emitting two-dimensional coherent laser array

The picosecond dynamical properties of a two-dimensional grating surface emitting (GSE) laser array are investigated by recording with a streak camera the optical emission under low duty cycle, 200-ns pulsed operation. The elements of the two-dimensional GSE arrays are index-guided ridge lasers. The array (a 10*2 array) consists of two groups of ten laterally coupled laser elements which are coupled longitudinally by an intervening grating, and gratings on either end of the two groups which provide the necessary feedback for the laser cavities. A variety of nonlinear dynamic behavior regimes, ranging from quiescent through periodic, to erratic is observed during the course of a single-drive current pulse. The transition from one regime to another may be due to transient heating during the pulse.<
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