Subnanosecond light pulses from GaAs injection lasers

Self-induced regular pulsations of the light intensity of GaAs injection lasers have been observed in pulse-driven diodes at liquid-nitrogen temperatures. The pulses occur at a repetition frequency of 500 MHz to 1 GHz, and the pulsewidth is less than 400 ps. These results are examined in the light of two theories that have been proposed to explain this kind of behavior in the GaAs laser. The basic differences between these two models are briefly described.