Exploring multi-stability in semiconductor ring lasers: theory and experiment

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first experimental observation of multi-stable states in a semiconductor ring laser, showing controlled switching between different dynamical regimes and matching experimental results with theoretical bifurcation models.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of multi-stability in a semiconductor ring laser and links the observed regimes to theoretical bifurcation analysis.

Findings

Multi-stable states observed experimentally in semiconductor ring lasers.

Dynamical regimes can be controlled and are reproducible.

Transitions between states match bifurcation model predictions.

Abstract

We report the first experimental observation of multi-stable states in a single-longitudinal mode semiconductor ring laser. We show how the operation of the device can be steered to either monostable, bistable or multi-stable dynamical regimes in a controlled way. We observe that the dynamical regimes are organized in well reproducible sequences that match the bifurcation diagrams of a two-dimensional model. By analyzing the phase space in this model, we predict how the stochastic transitions between multi-stable states take place and confirm it experimentally.