Generation of high-energy subnanosecond light pulses through direct current modulation of heterostructure lasers

This paper reports a study of the energy characteristics of highly efficient injection lasers with a narrow active channel based on separate-confinement heterostructures in (GaAl)As and (InGa)PAs systems. The lasers were pumped by current pulses 0.5 ns long with a height far above the lasing threshold (by as much as a factor of 1000). Limitations are imposed on the energy of the output pulses by nonlinear internal losses and degradation of the laser diodes.