Robust square-wave polarization switching in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We study theoretically and experimentally the combined effects of polarization-selective optical feedback and of crossed-polarization reinjection in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. We show that the application of polarization-selective optical feedback, which induces an effective dichroism...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Marconi, Mathias, Javaloyes, Julien, Barland, Stéphane, Giudici, Massimo, Balle, Salvador
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/83456
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/83456
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:We study theoretically and experimentally the combined effects of polarization-selective optical feedback and of crossed-polarization reinjection in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. We show that the application of polarization-selective optical feedback, which induces an effective dichroism in the system, allows one to generate a robust and regular square-wave output signal in each polarization component. The period of the square-wave signal is determined by twice the reinjection delay. We analyze the regularity of the induced modulation as a function of laser bias current, dichroism, and of the levels and delays of reinjection and feedback, thus revealing the robustness of the square-wave emission in the parameter space. We also show that the feedback is more effective when acting on the long-wavelength polarization mode, which can be traced to the asymmetry of the bistable region of the vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for low dichroism. © 2013 American Physical Society.