Notes on Dynamics of an External Cavity Semiconductor Lasers

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex dynamics of external cavity semiconductor lasers using theoretical methods, revealing that their behavior cannot be fully understood through simple bifurcation diagrams or single parameters.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of laser stability and dynamics using Lyapunov spectra, bifurcation diagrams, and phase portraits, emphasizing the limitations of single-parameter approaches.

Findings

Laser dynamics are highly sensitive to feedback phase, strength, and pump current.

Simple bifurcation diagrams are insufficient to capture the full complexity of laser behavior.

The study offers a comprehensive picture of qualitative changes in laser dynamics.

Abstract

Dynamics of external cavity semiconductor lasers is known to be a complex and uncontrollable phenomenon. Due to the lack of experimental studies on the nature of the external cavity semiconductor lasers, there is a need to theoretically clarify laser dynamics. The stability of laser dynamics in the present paper, is analyzed through plotting the Lyapunov exponent spectra, bifurcation diagrams, phase portrait and electric field intensity time series. The analysis is preformed with respect to applied feedback phase $C_p$, feedback strength $\eta$ and the pump current of the laser. The main argument of the paper is to show that the laser dynamics can not be accounted for through simply a bifurcation diagram and single-control parameter. The comparison of the obtained results provides a very detailed picture of the qualitative changes in laser dynamics.