Coherent Transverse Coupling in Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Lasers

Coherent transverse coupling in 2×2 arrays of defect cavities in photonic crystal (PhC) vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) is reported. Modification of the effective index and optical loss by design of the photonic crystal hole pattern results in evanescent coupling between the multiple defect cavities of a PhC VCSEL. Fabrication processes for these devices are discussed. Far field measurements are utilized to demonstrate both the out-of-phase and in-phase results. Room temperature continuous wave operating characteristics for the devices are provided, and a quantitative description of the coherently coupled operation is presented. The resulting agreement between the simulated and observed far fields is shown