Picosecond emission dynamics of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers:: Spatial, spectral, and polarization-resolved characterization

We present two-dimensional (2-D) spatially and picosecond-resolved measurements of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers' emission, unveiling their rich dynamics, manifesting itself in temporal changes of the modal, polarization, spectral, and spatial characteristics. The measurements providing insight into the repetitive part of the dynamics were performed with a newly developed experimental technique. In addition, we present the first 2-D, spatially resolved, single-shot event measurements which provide a full complementary picture of the dynamical behavior. The experimental results are analyzed and discussed with respect to spatio-spectral interaction mechanisms of carriers and photons, explaining the observed behavior.