Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers incorporating structured mirrors patterned by electron-beam lithography

We demonstrate the operation of bottom-emitting vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with linear mode polarization which is controlled in an arbitrary orientation by the use of patterned metallic mirrors on top of the VCSEL surface. The top mirror is made in the shape of a 200 nm pitch grating, composed of alternating high reflectivity (Au) and low reflectivity (Cr) metal lines, whose orientation determines the polarization of the laser mode. The gratings were fabricated by high-resolution (