Delayed feedback control of self-mobile cavity solitons

TL;DR

This paper investigates how phase-controlled delayed optical feedback and carrier lifetime influence the movement of cavity solitons in semiconductor cavities, revealing critical thresholds and velocity behaviors.

Contribution

It provides new analytical and numerical insights into the effects of feedback phase and carrier response on cavity soliton mobility in nonlinear optical systems.

Findings

Feedback phase significantly affects drift instability threshold.

Carrier response increases the critical feedback rate for instability.

Velocity of cavity solitons depends on feedback phase and carrier dynamics.

Abstract

Control of the motion of cavity solitons is one the central problems in nonlinear optical pattern formation. We report on the impact of the phase of the time-delayed optical feedback and carrier lifetime on the self-mobility of localized structures of light in broad area semiconductor cavities. We show both analytically and numerically that the feedback phase strongly affects the drift instability threshold as well as the velocity of cavity soliton motion above this threshold. In addition we demonstrate that non-instantaneous carrier response in the semiconductor medium is responsible for the increase in critical feedback rate corresponding to the drift instability.