Effects of gain saturation on polarization switching in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

The gain saturation effects on polarization switching in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers were analyzed. A macroscopic model was derived which includes the frequency dependence of the complex gain and the gain nonlinearities due to spectral hole burning. The results show that gain nonlinearities affect the switching from higher to lower frequency and their effects are more visible when the spin flip rate is large.