Superradiant heterolasers

The phenomenon of collective recombination (superfluorescence or superradiance) of electrons and holes in semiconductor laser structures of various dimensions is reviewed. At the current level of technology, this phenomenon can be realized most easily in quantum-well and quantum-dot heterostructures. Under CW pumping, it could lead to the generation of powerful coherent radiation pulses which are shorter than incoherent relaxation times and have nothing to do with mode-locking technique. Particular attention is paid to the external magnetic field and distributed feedback of waves which favor suparradiant lasing.