Deterministic Control of Extreme Events in a semiconductor VCSEL via Polarization-Engineered Optical Feedback

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to deterministically induce and control extreme optical events in a semiconductor VCSEL by using polarization-engineered optical feedback, enabling precise modulation of rogue wave occurrences.

Contribution

The study introduces a polarization-controlled feedback technique that allows deterministic triggering and tuning of extreme events in a VCSEL, a novel approach in nonlinear photonics.

Findings

Extreme events are triggered by deterministic energy exchange between modes.

Waveplate angle enables non-monotonic control of event rate and intensity.

Heavy-tailed fluctuations with long-range temporal memory are observed.

Abstract

Extreme events, or rogue waves, are high-amplitude, rare occurrences that emerge across diverse physical systems and often defy conventional statistical predictions. While optical systems provide a controlled setting for studying these phenomena, achieving deterministic control over their generation remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to induce and precisely modulate extreme events in a semiconductor VCSEL using polarization-controlled optical feedback. By integrating a $\lambda$/2-waveplate into a polarization-selective external cavity, we regulate the nonlinear interaction between TE and TM modes. This setup triggers high-intensity, heavy-tailed fluctuations in the TM mode, exhibiting clear signatures of extreme events. We show that these events arise from deterministic energy exchange between modes, as evidenced by strong bipolar correlations and long-range temporal memory. The waveplate angle serves as an effective external parameter, enabling non-monotonic tuning of the event rate, intensity, and temporal clustering. Our study establish a platform for exploring extreme events in dissipative systems, with implications for nonlinear photonics and optical technologies.