Role of optical guiding in critical-temperature behaviour, delays and q switching in single hetero-structure GaAs/(GaAl)as lasers

The sharp increase in threshold current in single hetero-structure lasers around the critical temperature Tc has been found to be quantitatively related to the measured loss of optical confinement caused by injected carriers. Using this relation, laser quenching below Tc, Q switching and anomalous delays can be attributed, respectively, to catastrophic loss of confinement, momentary restoration of confinement and the interaction of saturable absorbers with the confinement change.