Broad area Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) have peculiar polarization properties which are a field of study by itself.^1-3 These properties have already been used for localized structure generation, in a simple configuration, where only one polarization component was used.⁴ 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-flip 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 confirm 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.

Date Published: 28 April 2016
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9892, Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics VII, 98921E (28 April 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2225161

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9892:
Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics VII
Krassimir Panajotov; Marc Sciamanna; Angel Valle; Rainer Michalzik, Editor(s)