Fast polarization self-modulation in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

For many applications, it is important to modulate a semiconductor laser at very high rates (⩾ tens GHz). Recently, a technique based on the self-modulation of the polarization in an edge-emitting semiconductor laser was used for generating high frequency optical pulses without requiring high-speed electronics. In this paper, a demonstration of polarization self-modulation using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is presented. VCSELs exhibit different intrinsic polarization properties from edge-emitting lasers are particularly well suited for two dimensional array applications including optical interconnection and optical storage