Abstract

Because of their cylindrical geometry and the consequent astigmatism free circular beam shape, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) are on the one hand appropriate structures for optical data communication. On the other hand, their fragility for undesired polarization instabilities due to their circular symmetry limits their usefulness for polarization selective applications. To understand the complex polarization behavior, one has to fully characterize the state of polarization e.g. in terms of Stokes polarization parameters (SPPs). With these four SPPs S0, S1, S2 and S3 the state of polarized and unpolarized light can be described completely. We will present time-resolved SPPs measurements of a transverse multi-mode VCSEL in pulsed operation mode on a microsecond timescale. Furthermore, these investigations will be complemented by corresponding spectro-temporally resolved studies, which clearly uncover the polarization dynamic of each individual transverse mode.

© 2015 IEEE