Polarization switching performance of VCSEL subjected to optical pulse injection

Based on the rate equations describing the dynamic characteristics of the master and slave vertical cavity surface emitting laser （M-VCSEL，S-VCSEL）, under the modulation of pulsed bias current，the polarization characteristics of M-VCSEL output and the polarization switching performance of S-VCSEL subjected to optical pulse output from the M-VCSEL have been investigated. The results show that periodical pulses can be obtained by adding a periodical pulsed current on the M-VCSEL. Under injection of the optical pulsed from M-VCSEL, the output power of S-VCSEL will switch periodically between two orthogonal polarizations，and the period is equal to the period of the modulated current in M-VCSEL. Through changing the modulated amplitude of current in M-VCSEL，the orthogonal polarization suppression ratio （OPSR） can be controlled easily.