Microcavity-enhanced Kerr nonlinearity in a vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser: erratum

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Semiconductor Lasers

Background:

• Self-mode-locking Vertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VECSELs) are crucial for high-power laser generation.
• Accurate modeling of the Kerr lens effect is essential for optimizing VECSEL performance.
• Previous calculations of the Kerr lens focal length in VECSELs contained a mistake.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correct a calculation error in the determination of the Kerr lens focal length for VECSELs.
• To update the relevant figure and parameters from a prior publication.
• To provide a more accurate understanding of the Kerr lens effect in VECSEL cavities.

Main Methods:

• Recalculating the Kerr lens focal length using measured nonlinear refractive index (n2) values.
• Utilizing parameters from a prototypical self-mode-locking VECSEL cavity.
• Updating Fig. 1 from the original publication (Opt. Express 27, 11914 (2019)) with corrected data.

Main Results:

• The corrected calculation yields a significantly larger focal length for the Kerr lens.
• The updated focal length indicates a smaller perturbation of the cavity beam profile.
• The revised parameters provide a more accurate representation of the VECSEL's internal optical dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The correction of the Kerr lens focal length calculation is vital for accurate VECSEL modeling.
• A larger Kerr lens focal length leads to improved stability and reduced beam distortion.
• This work refines the understanding of nonlinear optical effects in VECSELs, aiding future device design.