POLARIZATION MODULATION DYNAMICS OF VERTICAL-CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING LASERS WITH AN EXTENDED-CAVITY

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL's) are known to exhibit a small birefringence and dichroism whose ages are directed along the crystal axes of the quantum wells and which fix the polarization of t he oscillating light, In this paper, we consider the dynamics of the p olarization of light in such a laser, extended by means of a quarter-w avelength plate in an external cavity. Periodic variations are experim entally observed, A theoretical analysis and numerical results are pro posed, using a recent model which includes the carriers' spin interact ion, A good match is found between experimental and numerical results.