title: Stokes vector characterization of the polarization behavior of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.
abstract: We demonstrate that a full polarization analysis in terms of the Stokes vector parameters is necessary to determine the polarization state of light emitted by vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). For three selected representative VCSEL devices, we measured the injection current dependence of the three Stokes parameters and compared these results with linearly selected polarization P-I curves, clearly demonstrating that a complete polarization analysis is required to unveil the full polarization behavior.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Physics, Technical University Darmstadt, Schlossgartenstrasse 7, Darmstadt 64289, Germany. andreas.molitor@physik.tu‑darmstadt.de
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molitor
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Elsässer