The Generation of a Compact Azimuthally Polarized Vertical-Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Beam with Radial Slits

We propose the simple and efficient generation of a compact azimuthally polarized laser beam. Radial slits with annular distribution are patterned onto the output facet of a standard vertical-cavity surface emitting laser. Due to the polarization modulation of the surface plasmon polariton mode excited by the radial slits, a compact azimuthally polarized laser beam at 850 nm is experimentally demonstrated. The finite-difference time-domain method is introduced to analyze the polarization characteristics of the transmitted light through the radial slit, which agrees well with our experimental results.