We demonstrate lasing mode selection in nearly circular semiconductor microdisks by shaping the spatial profile of optical pump. Despite of strong mode overlap, adaptive pumping suppresses all lasing modes except the targeted one. Due to slight defor
mation of the cavity shape and boundary roughness, each lasing mode has distinct emission pattern. By selecting different mode to be the dominant lasing mode, we can switch both the lasing frequency and the output direction. Such tunability by external pump after the laser is fabricated enhances the functionality of semiconductor microcavity lasers.
An efficient method to tune the spatial coherence of a degenerate laser over a broad range with minimum variation in the total output power is presented. It is based on varying the diameter of a spatial filter inside the laser cavity. The number of l
asing modes supported by the degenerate laser can be controlled from 1 to 320,000, with less than a 50% change in the total output power. We show that a degenerate laser designed for low spatial coherence can be used as an illumination source for speckle-free microscopy that is 9 orders of magnitude brighter than conventional thermal light.
