We review the dynamics of VCSELs that experience both Polarization-Selective Feedback (PSF) and Crossed- Polarization Reinjection (XPR). Different regimes of regular pulsation were found. For strong enough XPR levels, the VCSEL emission in each of its linearly-polarized components displays a square-wave modulation which regularity is greatly enhanced by small levels of PSF. Such a square-wave is in antiphase for the two polarizations, and it turns out to be stable and robust over broad intervals of current. The frequency of the square-wave is determined by the length of the XPR arm. For weak levels of PSF and XPR, the VCSEL emits a regular train of short optical pulses arising from the locking of the modes in the PSF cavity. The frequency of the pulse train is stable on short time scales, but it wanders with a characteristic time scale of hundreds of roundtrips in the PSF cavity. The experimental results are successfully explained by an extension of the Spin-Flip Model that incorporates gain saturation and the effects of PSF and XPR.

Date Published: 2 May 2014
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 9134, Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics VI, 913412 (2 May 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2048868

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9134:
Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics VI
Krassimir Panajotov; Marc Sciamanna; Angel Valle; Rainer Michalzik, Editor(s)