The effects of polarization-resolved optical feedback on the relative intensity noise and polarization stability of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

The relative intensity noise of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) subject to polarization-resolved optical feedback has been investigated experimentally. A comparison is made of the effects of polarization-selective and polarization-preserving optical feedback on the polarization stability of VCSELs. The experiments show that polarization-selective optical feedback has a greater effect on the dynamics of VCSELs than polarization-preserved optical feedback. Polarization-selective optical feedback can be used to control the polarization stability of the VCSEL operating near the polarization-switching current and is easier to affect the dynamics of the VCSEL in the polarization stable regime.