I have not yet tried with a blue LD, howeer I have used a IR VECSEL and IR and Blue LEDs.
You perhaps have Two ways to start:
One, Build a avalanche transistor driver with the assistance of a skilled technician or Electrical Engineer and experiment.
Two, Contact Avtech or a similar pulser company and ask about their experience with blue diodes.
www.avtechpulse.com Avtech is very friendly to researchers, I'm sure they will share their experience with you.
The pulser will stretch out the rise time if needed, so will adding less then a picofarad or similar small capacitor across the diode. A series inductor is used by some to slow the pulse as well. You need to watch the dI/dT through the diode. Most LDs are remarkably fast, it is the lead length of the package that matters a great deal.
If you must do it the experimental way:
The page at:
http://www.elexp.com/t_SpeedofLight.htm has a self triggering LD Avalanche laser driver circuit, which can be modified for external trigger per the Jim Williams publication. However building it on the breadboard module shown with the huge lead lengths is slowing it down. It should be built as compact as possible with low loop area in the leads. This is to reduce inductance. It should be built by hand on a very small piece of printed circuit board.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.eWU&cad=rja
See page 93 of the above Linear Technology application note 47 for the pulser. I get 750 picoseconds full half width maximum from mine driving a led. My collegue obtained 550 picoseconds with a surface mount IR laser removed from a fiber optic networking board.
2N2369 is a good transistor for this. Diodes Inc makes Zetex 415 and 418 transistors for this as well.
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68, 2253 (1997) is a good paper.
Avtech can tell you which blue LDs they have had success with.
The Nichia Blue LDs harvested by laser hobbyists from video projectors have large dies, but seem to take high dI/dT with little problems. I'm sure some one here can chime in and offer you one or two pieces for trials.
Good Luck,
Steve