TY - JOUR
T1 - Low-frequency fluctuations in external cavity semiconductor lasers
T2 - Understanding based on a simple dynamical model
AU - Prasad, Awadhesh
AU - Lai, Ying-Cheng
AU - Gavrielides, Athanasios
AU - Kovanis, Vassilios
PY - 2001/8
Y1 - 2001/8
N2 - We investigate the dynamical origin of low-frequency fluctuations (LFFs) in external cavity semiconductor lasers by utilizing a simplified, three-dimensional model derived from the infinite-dimensional Lang-Kobayashi (LK) equations. The simplified model preserves the dynamical properties of the external-cavity modes (ECMs) and antimodes which play a fundamental role in the generation of LFFs. This model yields a clear picture of the dynamical origin of the LFFs. Two distinct regions are observed in parameter space, one with the presence of the maximum-gain mode (MGM), and another without it. In particular, we show that, in the absence of noise, LFFs are a consequence of the dynamical interactions among different ECMs and antimodes. When a small amount of noise is present, LFFs result from an intermittent switching of trajectories among different coexisting attractors in the phase space. The presence of double peaks in the distribution of power dropout times, which has been observed recently in experiment s, is explained, and a scaling relation is obtained between the average switching time and the noise strength.
AB - We investigate the dynamical origin of low-frequency fluctuations (LFFs) in external cavity semiconductor lasers by utilizing a simplified, three-dimensional model derived from the infinite-dimensional Lang-Kobayashi (LK) equations. The simplified model preserves the dynamical properties of the external-cavity modes (ECMs) and antimodes which play a fundamental role in the generation of LFFs. This model yields a clear picture of the dynamical origin of the LFFs. Two distinct regions are observed in parameter space, one with the presence of the maximum-gain mode (MGM), and another without it. In particular, we show that, in the absence of noise, LFFs are a consequence of the dynamical interactions among different ECMs and antimodes. When a small amount of noise is present, LFFs result from an intermittent switching of trajectories among different coexisting attractors in the phase space. The presence of double peaks in the distribution of power dropout times, which has been observed recently in experiment s, is explained, and a scaling relation is obtained between the average switching time and the noise strength.
KW - Fluctuation phenomena
KW - Nonlinear dynamics
KW - Semiconductor lasers
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U2 - 10.1088/1464-4266/3/4/308
DO - 10.1088/1464-4266/3/4/308
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035418240
VL - 3
SP - 242
EP - 250
JO - Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
JF - Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
SN - 0953-4075
IS - 4
ER -