RUI: Effect of optical feedback on vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

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This RUI experimental research program will systematically investigate the effect of optical feedback on vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), especially the possibility of using optical feedback to control the output from the VCSEL. Both proton-implanted and oxidized VCSELs will be studied experimentally, following the change in spatial and spectral characteristics of the VCSEL when different kinds of optical feedback, non-polarized, polarized, and spatially filtered feedback, are applied. The goal is to find conditions, feedback level, external cavity length, feedback phase, etc., under which the VCSEL can operate with single-mode and/or single polarization even if the injection current is relatively high. The PI will also examine the route for the VCSEL to enter the regime of chaotic oscillation and compare it with the existing theoretical prediction. The broader impact of the program will be through the training of undergraduate students to work in a technically demanding field.