Different regimes of low-frequency fluctuations in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Abstract

A numerical study of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with optical feedback demonstrates the existence of two different types of low-frequency fluctuations (LFFs). The competition of two equally dominant polarization modes characterizes one type of LFF, while the other type is characterized by power drops in a dominant polarization mode and power bursts in the orthogonal depressed mode. We characterize and compare these two types of LFFs on the basis of their polarization properties and their dependency on the laser parameters. We show furthermore that a transition is possible from one type of LFF to the other, depending on the values of the linear anisotropies of the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser cavity.

Chaos dynamics in vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers with polarization-selected optical feedback

“…In addition to similar feedback-induced dynamics as observed in edge-emitting semiconductor lasers, VCSEL shows extra instabilities, for example, polarization instabilities depending on the bias injection current, feedback strength, and feedback cavity length. Several experimental and theoretical studies for the dynamics in VCSELs with optical feedback have been reported up to the present [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Also the dynamics of polarization-selected optical feedback in VCSELs have been studied [17][18][19].…”

Chaotic polarization dynamics and chaos synchronization in VCSELs

“…A typical example is the low-frequency fluctuation (LFF) regime where the chaotic fluctuations of the LP mode dynamics may either be in phase and then lead to similar dynamics in the VCSEL total power, or rather be anticorrelated and lead to a laser output power almost constant in time [2], [3]. Recently, we have shown that another dynamics resulting from optical feedback consists of slow hopping between the two LP modes complemented by fast anticorrelated pulses at the external cavity frequency [4]; see Fig.…”

Experimental Observation of Dynamic-State Switching in VCSELs With Optical Feedback

“…Furthermore, due to two linear polarization modes [18], [19], VCSELs with external-cavity optical feedback can exhibit complex dynamics. The existence of two different types of low-frequency fluctuations in VCSELs with external-cavity optical feedback was demonstrated [13]. It was also experimentally found that polarization-preserved feedback can induce random polarization mode hopping [20], [21].…”