Theoretical modeling of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with polarized optical feedback

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.