title: Light flowers from coherent vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser arrays.
abstract: Emission of symmetric flower-shaped light patterns from coherently locked hexagonal vertical-cavity semiconductor laser arrays is reported. The flower patterns preserve their shape while propagating in free space. The emission of these unique light distributions is explained as being due to the combined effects of thermal lensing and the loss patterns employed for array definition. A theoretical model for strongly coupled arrays matches the results.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yadin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scheuer
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orenstein