Spatially inhomogeneously polarized transverse modes in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We demonstrate spatially nonuniform polarization of the fundamental transverse mode in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. Using a vectorial electromagnetic model, we find orthogonal linearly polarized components in the field of a solitary mode. We give experimental evidence for our predictions by polarization-resolved near-field measurements: the fundamental transverse mode contains a four-lobed intensity distribution in one linear polarization direction that is weaker than the dominant orthogonally polarized Gaussian-shaped distribution by 35 dB in excellent agreement between experiment and model.