Abstract
We report experimental observations of cavity solitons in a surface-photonic-crystalstructured Vertical Cavity Surface Emission Laser by using the near-field scanning optical microscope. Comparisons between linear and nonlinear localized modes, i.e. defect modes and cavity solitons, are illustrated experimentally and numerically. A general method to generate and control self-organized cavity solitons is demonstrated without using a holding beam. ©2009 Optical Society of America.