Antiphase Noise Dynamics in a Dual-Wavelength Vertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser

We present extensive measurements of the pump-dependent dynamics of antiphase noise in a dual-wavelength multimode vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL). We show that antiphase noise at frequencies below 10 kHz dominates the relative-intensity noise spectrum in the emission of a dual-wavelength VECSEL due to gain competition between the two-lasing wavelengths. We observe that with increasing pump power the antiphase noise decreases in amplitude but increases in bandwidth. Surprisingly, at even higher pump powers the spectral extent of the antiphase noise narrows significantly. The results provide information critical to potential applications of dual-wavelength VECSELs, such as intracavity parametric frequency conversion.