Investigations on the Intensity Noise of Surface Grating Relief VCSELs

We present polarization-resolved intensity noise investigations of oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with an integrated small-area surface grating. We demonstrate that the reduction of the complex polarization and transverse mode behavior via the introduced high dichroism of the grating relief lead to an improved, quite simple noise behavior. The observed noise behavior is in good qualitative agreement with a two-mode noise model.