Transverse mode measurements in index guided vertical cavity semiconductor lasers

Summary form only given. Vertical cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers (VCSELs) have many applications in information technology, particularly communications and data storage. These applications require careful control of their emission spectra, transverse modes and polarisation properties. Index-guided VCSELs using oxide confinement are particularly promising due to their generally low lasing thresholds, high efficiencies and excellent electrical properties. However, there have been no systematic studies of their transverse mode properties. In this paper we describe recent measurements of transverse modes in oxide confined AlGaAs VCSELs of aperture sizes ranging from 1 to 20 /spl mu/m square.