Previously, an effective index optical model was introduced for the analysis of lateral waveguiding effects in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. We show that the resultant transverse equation is almost identical to the one typically obtained in the analysis of dielectric waveguide problems, such as a step-index optical fiber. The solution to the transverse equation yields the lateral dependence of the optical field and, as we recognize in this paper, the discrete frequencies of the

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... avity modes. As an example, we apply this technique to the analysis of vertical-cavity lasers that contain thin-oxide apertures. The model intuitively explains our experimental data and makes quantitative predictions in good agreement with a highly accurate numerical model.