Polarization-controlled and single-transverse-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with eye-shaped oxide aperture

Abstract

We presented a single-transverse-mode and single-polarization vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with an eye-shaped oxide aperture, obtained by enhanced anisotropic oxidation of oxide layer. For apertures with dimensions of 2 × 4.6 and 3 × 6 µm2, the orthogonal polarization suppression ratio (OPSR) of the VCSEL was 22 and 19 dB, respectively. A single-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of more than 25 dB at an output power of 0.5 mW was also achieved for the VCSEL with aperture dimension of 2 × 4.6 µm2. We believe that the proposed method to realize the mode and polarization control of VCSELs has great potential in future applications.