A theoretical model has been formulated using lumped rate equations to analyze the temperature dependence of theQ-switched (i.e., saturable absorber operated) and gain-switched operation of a quantum-well laser. The results are found to agree with experimental results obtained from AlGaAs quantum-well devices, and show that improvement in the pulse energy inQ-switched and gain-switched lasers can be achieved by optimizing the operating temperature above room temperature. With increasing temperature, the pulse energy increases due to the pulses broadening while the peak power remains approximately constant. The effect is mainly attributed to the decrease of the gain with temperature. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.