Includes bibliographical references (pages 320-321).We have measured the time average spatial intensity distribution and the spatio-temporal evolution of the spectrally resolved radiation emitted from broad-area vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) when pumped by a fast current pulse. We show that an intrinsic symmetry break exists due to geometrical asymmetry of the device structure and that the frequency separation between different modes allows the evaluation of the asymmetry factor. The space-time behavior shows the appearance of higher-order modes coexisting or alternating in time. The dynamical behavior shows a chirping infrequency
