Transient response of an optically pumped short-cavity semiconductor laser

We study the dynamics of a single-mode short-cavity laser consisting of a 1-{μ}m-thick layer of bulk semiconductor sandwiched between dielectric mirrors and excited by optical femtosecond pulses. The emission is time resolved by an up-conversion technique with a time resolution of 250 fs. The experimental evidence for low and high excitation is compared with model calculations and is discussed in the framework of recent microscopic theories. From this comparison we conclude that the heating of the carrier distributions due to stimulated emission has a dramatic influence on the temporal dynamics of the emission.