Polarisation switching in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers: from experimental observations to applications

• Autorzy: Verschaffelt G. , Panajotov K. , Albert J. , Nagler B. , Peeters M. , Danckaert J. , Veretennicoff I. , Thienpont H.
• Konferencja: The Second School of Photonics in Information Processing ; (7.11-11.11.2000 ; Stare Jabłonki , Poland)
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Touted as promising components for present and future data-communication and sources for photonic switching fabrics, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have been studied in detail during the past years, with a focus on their static light-current and dynamic intensity modulation characteristics. Their superior beam quality, low power consumption, Gigahertz modulation bandwidth and the possibility of manufacturing these devices in 2D arrays are often cited as substantial advantages compared to traditional edge-emitting semiconductor lasers or light emitting diodes. A disadvantage of VCSELs is that the polarisation of the emitted light is not defined a priori due to the VCSEL’s quasi-cylindrical symmetry and its direction of lasing perpendicular to the active region. However, real VCSELs do emit linearly polarised light and often polarisation switching from one state to the orthogonal one is observed as the current is changed. In this contribution we will discuss the experimental characteristics of this intriguing polarisation switching phenomenon. We will give an overview of various physical mechanism proposed to explain the polarisation behaviour of these devices and we will illustrate the use of this polarisation switching in the implementation of reconfigurable optical interconnects.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

semiconductor lasers; surface-emitting lasers; polarisation

• Wydawca: Stowarzyszenie Elektryków Polskich ; Polska Akademia Nauk ; Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna im. Jarosława Dąbrowskiego
• Czasopismo: Opto-Electronics Review
• Rocznik: 2001
• Tom: Vol. 9, No. 3
• Strony: 257--268
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 49 poz.

Twórcy

autor

Verschaffelt G.

autor

Panajotov K.

autor

Albert J.

autor

Nagler B.

autor

Peeters M.

autor

Danckaert J.

autor

Veretennicoff I.

autor

Thienpont H.

• Department of Applied Physics and Photonics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2 Pleinlaan Str., B-1050 Brussels, Belgium,