Polarization control of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers through use of an anisotropic gain distribution in [110]-oriented strained quantum-well structures

Author

Sun, Decai ; Towe, Elias ; Ostdiek, Paul H. ; Grantham, Jeffery W. ; Vansuch, Gregory J.

Author_Institution

Lab. for Optics & Quantum Electrons., Virginia Univ., Charlottesville, VA, USA

Volume

1

Issue

2

fYear

1995

fDate

6/1/1995 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

674

Lastpage

680

Abstract

An analysis of the in-plane optical matrix elements connected with the gain distribution of (In,Ga)As-GaAs quantum-well structures on (110) GaAs substrates is presented. The in-plane gain distribution is found to be anisotropic-with a maximum directed along the [1¯10]-[11¯0] crystallographic axis. Optically-pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers on the (110) surface with these quantum wells in the cavity exhibit stable, well-defined polarization states; this stability is believed to be a consequence of the predicted anisotropic gain distribution on the (110) surface. Of the two orthogonal eigen polarizations observed, the one with the higher optical intensity, for a given pump power, was found to be stabilized along the [1¯10] crystallographic axis; this is in agreement with the analysis

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; laser beams; laser cavity resonators; laser stability; optical pumping; quantum well lasers; surface emitting lasers; (110) surface; (In,Ga)As-GaAs quantum-well structures; GaAs; GaAs substrates; InGaAs-GaAs; anisotropic gain distribution; gain distribution; in-plane gain distribution; in-plane optical matrix elements; optical intensity; optically-pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers; orthogonal eigen polarizations; polarization states; pump power; quantum wells; stability; strained quantum-well structures; vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Crystallography; Geometrical optics; Laser stability; Optical control; Optical polarization; Optical pumping; Quantum well lasers; Surface emitting lasers; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1077-260X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/2944.401257

Filename

401257