Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers have two preferential polarization states related to the crystal axes of the quantum wells. In this work, we consider such a laser extended by means of a polarizer inserted in an external cavity. When the phase of the external-cavity field is modulated, the laser switches from one polarization state to the other. Experimental and theoretical results in which spin interactions are inserted are presented and discussed. A linear stability analysis is applied to the two linearly polarized stationary states in the case of structures with small amplitude anisotropies. It shows how the phase of the reinjected field affects the stability of the mode. Coefficients for gain compression and spontaneous noise are mandatory to obtain polarization flips in the simulations.

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are known to exhibit a small birefringence and dichroism whose axes are directed along the crystal axes of the quantum wells and which fix the polarization of the oscillating light. In this paper, we consider the dynamics of the polarization of light in such a laser, extended by means of a quarter-wavelength plate in an external cavity. Periodic variations are experimentally observed. A theoretical analysis and numerical results are proposed, using a recent model which includes the carriers' spin interaction. A good match is found between experimental and numerical results.

It is shown that the light of a commercial vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser submitted to a polarised optical feedback can be switched between two linear polarisation eigenstates.

We show that the light of a commercial vertical cavity surface-emitting laser with polarized optical feedback can be switched between two linear polarization eigenstates. The flip occurs when the feedback phase is scanned by either the external cavity length or the injection current.