Abstract
We develop a simple model for the slow lights in vertical cavity surface emission lasers (VCSELs), with the combination of cavity and population pulsation effects. The dependences of probe signal power, injection bias current and wavelength detuning for the group delays are demonstrated numerically and experimentally. Up to 65 ps group delays and up to 10 GHz modulation frequency can be achieved at room temperature at a wavelength of 1.3 μm. The most significant feature of our VCSEL device is that the thickness of the active region is only several micrometers long. Based on the experimental parameters of quantum dot VCSEL structures, we show that the resonance effect of the laser cavity plays a significant role in enhancing the group delays. © IOP Publishing Ltd.