Transient multimode statistics in almost single-mode semiconductor lasers

The transient statistics of an almost single-mode semiconductor laser biased below threshold is studied. The authors characterise the statistics of rare turn-on events in which the depressed mode carries significant output power in terms of output power at turn-on and mean power during duration of the optical pulse for the main and side modes. The turn-on time is defined as the time at which the total output power reaches a prescribed value. The statistics of power partition at turn-on time is obtained analytically and numerically for different excitation currents and gain differences. Numerical results for the statistics of mean power partition during pulse emission are presented. A simple relation between both characterisations is found