Transverse-mode control in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers via a patterned phase aperture

Transverse-mode discrimination in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers that contain a patterned phase aperture is analyzed numerically. The two lowest-order modes are calculated for different aperture shapes and sizes. They are then expanded in Laguerre-Gaussian modes to study the power distribution as well as their beam propagation factor. The mode selection depends on the aperture's size and degree of symmetry. The maximum value for the mode discrimination in the case of a specific phase aperture is determined, and an enhancement by a factor of 3, compared to the case without a phase aperture, is found.