Stable single-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with a photoresistive aperture

It is numerically demonstrated that on-axis current channeling through the use of a photoactive layer or layers in vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser cavities counteracts hole burning and allows single-mode operation at high currents. The photoactive layers act as a variable-resistivity screen whose radial aperture is controlled by the light itself. Absorption of a small fraction of the light intensity suffices for significant on-axis current peaking with minimum efficiency loss and optical mode distortion.