Bistable operation of two semiconductor lasers in an external cavity: Rate-equation analysis

Optical bistability in semiconductor injection lasers

“…x TS * 1 2 /D (33) which is of the order of 200 ps for stripes separated by 3 fjm. This is greater than the postulated limit for the SCCL, but the twin-stripe laser has the advantage of simpler construction and greater ease of optical triggering.…”

“…To overcome the problem of providing strong optical coupling while preserving electrical isolation, a second approach using two separate devices strongly coupled in an external cavity was proposed [33]. This twin-diode external cavity configuration (Fig.…”

“…Though the high carrier densities present at saturation may lead to initial lifetime shortening, a rateequation analysis of twin-diode lasers has shown switching delays and transition times limited to a few nanoseconds by the spontaneous carrier lifetime [33]. The scheme proposed by Suzuki et al [36] using a saturably absorbing layer deposited on one facet may have shorter switching delay and rise time, but is still limited by a recovery time of some nanoseconds.…”

Theoretical description and experiment to prove the bistability of the semiconductor laser diode

“…Its analytic expression is possible to be derived by statically solving a set of three rate equations. The W-A characteristic was theoretically and experimentally determined in [2], [6], [10].Under certain simplifying preconditions, it is possible to derive from the analytic expression, also basic conditions of bistability arising and also the conditions necessary for the origin of self pulsations in LD radiation [8], [10]. This article deals with theoretical results and experiments, which led to the demonstration of optical bistability on the specially modified LD created on the double hetero structure Ga 1-x Al x Al/GaAs with saturable absorption section and description of their properties.…”

“…To determine a condition causing a bistable mode in a BLD a mathematical analysis of extremes of function I g =g 2 (N ph) was carried out and the function was created by numerical solution of rate equations (1)-(3) provided that the life time of the carriers in generation as well as absorption areas τ g , τ a is not a function of carrier concentration and a coefficient β=0 according to [8], [9]. The condition for the origination of a BLD bistability mode has the following form:…”