We study picosecond carrier transport dynamics induced by 200 fs 1.55 &mgr;m optical pulses in charge injection transistor structures. We propose and demonstrate a new optoelectronic method for exploring the interactions of hot majority carriers and cold minority carriers, as well as the optical control of real space transfer in these devices. The minority holes photogenerated in the channel produce substantial cooling of the hot‐electron majority carriers and lead to the reduction of the real space transfer. The new method also provides a direct measure of the minority carrier lifetime in the transistor channel. These effects are demonstrated in InGaAs‐channel devices with both InAlAs and InP barriers. The similarities in the device characteristics are explained in terms of the interaction of photogenerated minority holes with majority electrons in the channel leading to a photoconductor‐like drain current and to a reduction in the real space transfer collector current. The differences are attributed to the different conduction and valence band energy offsets between the wide band gap barrier and the low band gap collector and channel layers. Furthermore, the InAlAs‐barrier device shows a capability of serving as a practical photodetector with the measured, system‐limited recovery speed of ∼5 ps. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.