Tailored Transverse Mode Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser: Hollow Laser Beam Emission through Circle Aperture

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers that can be controlled to emit hollow laser beam in certain LP
₂₁
mode are proposed and fabricated. A circular inverted surface relief with precisely designed diameter and thickness is introduced through theoretical simulation. The fabricated device shows a stable single LP
₂₁
mode operation with excellent robustness of mode and power to temperature. Preliminary analysis attribute the excellent performance of the device to the inverted surface relief, leading to hollow near-field spot distribution.