An Aperture Probe of Near-Field Optical Microscope: Near-Field Tool to Modulate the Laser Diode Emissions

Abstract

In situ emission profiles of AlGaInP multiple quantum well laser diodes (LD's) observed by a near-field scanning optical microscope aperture probe shows a single broad elliptic profile similar to a far-field observation, whereas the local emission spectrum was different depending where the aperture probe was placed within the emission profile. This observation suggests the existence of a near-field coupling between the aperture and the LD cavity, which modulates the lasing wavelength among the longitudinal multimodes determined by the LD cavity length. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2009.757]