High-resolution birefringence cartography of a vertical cavity semiconductor laser

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-resolution polarization-resolved imaging technique to map birefringence in vertical cavity semiconductor lasers, providing detailed local wavelength and polarization information for advanced laser analysis.

Contribution

It combines a double-channel imaging method with polarization analysis to enable detailed birefringence mapping in VCSELs, a novel approach for laser characterization.

Findings

High-resolution polarization-resolved wavelength mapping

Detailed local birefringence and wavelength shift analysis

Potential applications to other optical samples

Abstract

We couple a double-channel imaging technique, allowing for the simultaneous acquisition of high-quality and high-resolution intensity and peak emission wavelength profiles [T. Wang and G.L. Lippi, Rev. Sci. Instr. 86, 063111 (2015)], to the polarization-resolved analysis of the optical emission of a multimode VCSEL. Detailed information on the local wavelength shifts between the two polarized components and on the wavelength gradients can be easily gathered. A polarization- and position-resolved energy balance can be constructed for each wavelength component, allowing in a simple way for a direct analysis of the collected light. Applications to samples, other than VCSELs, are suggested.