Influence of chirp, jitter and relaxation oscillations on probabilistic properties of laser pulse interference

TL;DR

This paper investigates how chirp, jitter, and relaxation oscillations collectively influence the probabilistic interference properties of laser pulses, combining theoretical modeling with experimental validation.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive model that accounts for all three effects simultaneously, improving the understanding of laser pulse interference statistics.

Findings

The model accurately predicts interference probability density functions.

Experimental results align with theoretical predictions.

Monte-Carlo simulations effectively reproduce the observed interference behavior.

Abstract

Interference of laser pulses is an essential ingredient of quantum randomness; therefore, probabilistic properties of laser pulses gains new relevance. Here, we consider in detail the combined influence of the three effects - chirp, jitter and relaxation oscillations - on the probability density function of the interference of pulses from a gain-switched semiconductor laser. We develop a rigorous model based on laser rate equations and demonstrate that only consideration of all these three effects together allows describing the interference statistics properly. We supplement our theoretical calculations with corresponding measurements at various pump currents. Experimental results demonstrate perfect agreement with predictions of the model and are well reproduced by Monte-Carlo simulations.