Polarization Control for MEMS-VCSEL Using Simple Metal Slit

Abstract

We developed a micromechanically tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser in which the polarization is controlled by metal slit. The slit was fabricated on a mirror in a microcavity, with the width of the slit being approximately the same as the beam width. We calculated the effect of the slit on the polarization using the finite difference time domain method with a 3D model. The results showed that the polarization perpendicular to the slit decayed faster than that parallel to the slit, implying that the structure is polarization-selective. This effect was confirmed when the slit was incorporated into actual devices.