Abstract

The nature of polarization switches in VCSELs has given rise to considerable debate.¹⁻³ A switch occurs when the lasing polarization is destabilized in favor of the orthogonal polarization. Key issues are (i) whether this requires the two polarization modes to have equal frequencies (= zero birefringence) or equal losses (=zero dichroism) and (ii) how the polarization behaves during a switch.

© 2000 Optical Society of America