Spatially inhomogeneously polarized transverse modes in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers - art. no. 031803

We demonstrate spatially nonuniform polarization of the fundamental transve rse mode in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. Using a vectorial ele ctromagnetic model, we find orthogonal linearly polarized components in the field of a solitary mode, We give experimental evidence for our prediction s by polarization-resolved near-field measurements: the fundamental transve rse mode contains a four-lobed intensity distribution in one linear polariz ation direction that is weaker than the dominant orthogonally polarized Gau ssian-shaped distribution by 35 dB in excellent agreement between experimen t and model.