Heterodyne nondegenerate pump-probe measurement technique for guided-wave devices

We describe a new heterodyne nondegenerate pump-probe waveguide measurement technique that permits independent control of wavelengths, pulse widths, and polarizations of the pump and probe pulses in a collinear geometry. This technique provides both time- and spectral-domain information and can be applied to transmission and index measurements alike. We demonstrate this technique for the measurement of gain dynamics in a strained-layer single-quantum-well diode laser.