Extreme events in optically pumped spin-VCSELs.

Extreme events (EEs) are predicted for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, in the chaotic dynamics of a free-running spin-polarized vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (spin-VCSEL). Here, we not only show two types of EEs, i.e., vectorial and scalar EEs separately corresponding to the emission of a high-power pulse in both linear polarizations (LPs) simultaneously and in single LP, but we also observe a new EE type that only occurs in total intensity. We also confirm that the observed EEs follow similar statistical distributions to conventional rogue waves. Moreover, the effects of pump power and pump ellipticity on the generation of EEs are analyzed. Finally, we compare free-running and optical feedback spin-VCSELs, which provides more insights into the study of EEs. More importantly, this work offers a novel platform for the study of EEs with a simple structure and opens up new research fields into spin-VCSELs.