Polarization properties of localized structures in VCSELs

Averlant, Etienne E. and Tlidi, Mustapha and Ackemann, Thorsten and Thienpont, Hugo and Panajotov, Krassimir; Panajotov, K and Sciamanna, M and Valle, A and Michalzik, R, eds. (2016) Polarization properties of localized structures in VCSELs. In: Proceedings of SPIE. Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics VII, 9892 . SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering., BEL. ISBN 9781510601376 (https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2225161)

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Abstract

Broad area Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) have peculiar polarization properties which are a field of study by itself. These properties have already been used for localized structure generation, in a simple configuration, where only one polarization component was used. Here, we present new experimental and theoretical results on the complex polarization behavior of localized structures generated in an optically-injected broad area VCSEL. A linear stability analysis of the spin-ip VCSEL model is performed for the case of broad area devices, in a restrained and experimentally relevant parameter set. Numerical simulations are performed, in one and two dimensions. They reveal existence of vector localized structures. These structures have a complex polarization state, which is not simply a linear polarization following the one of the optical injection. Experimental results confrm theoretical predictions. Applications of this work can lead to the encoding of small color images in the polarization state of an ensemble of localized structures at the surface of a broad area VCSEL.