Polarization instability and relative intensity noise in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We observe a polarization instability in circularly symmetric vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. A relatively long time, 3–5 ns, is required to establish a dominant polarization state. Under high-speed digital modulation this leads to strong enhancement, 20–30 dB, in polarization resolved low-frequency relative intensity noise. This polarization instability is accurately described by a simple rate-equation model. A similar increase in relative intensity noise, under dc bias, is caused by energy partition between orthogonally polarized modes.