Noise-induced chaos in an optically injected semiconductor laser model

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Laser Physics
• Nonlinear Dynamics

Background:

• Semiconductor lasers are crucial in modern optics.
• Spontaneous-emission noise is an inherent property of lasers.
• Understanding noise effects is vital for laser stability and applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate chaos induced by intrinsic spontaneous-emission noise in optically injected semiconductor lasers.
• To develop a quantitative method for analyzing scale-dependent noise effects.
• To identify generic characteristics of noise-induced chaos.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a single-mode injection model for optically injected semiconductor lasers.
• Developed a quantitative method to assess noise effects on system dynamics.
• Calculated correlation dimensions of attractors for clean and noisy systems.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that experimentally relevant noise levels can induce chaos.
• Identified specific conditions for noise to induce chaos, including diffusive behavior and persistent chaotic states.
• Observed noise-induced changes in the geometrical structure of attractors.

Conclusions:

• Noise-induced chaos is a plausible phenomenon in real semiconductor laser systems.
• The identified characteristics provide a framework for understanding noise-induced chaos.
• Noise significantly alters the dynamics and attractor geometry of optically injected lasers.