Vector beam generation from vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

Radially and azimuthally polarized beams in a single transverse mode are generated from a commercially available vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) in an external cavity with a birefringent rutile lens, of which the c axis is parallel to the optical axis of the cavity, to select favorable polarization. Additionally, a vector Bessel–Gaussian beam is generated from a VCSEL, which is fabricated to oscillate with a linear polarization in a fixed direction in free running, in the same way. These results clearly show the potential ability of VCSELs to generate vector beams, which will be essential to space-division multiplexing in the future optical communication.