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Optical feedback induces polarization mode hopping in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers
M Sciamanna1, K Panajotov, H Thienpont
1Service d'Electromagnétisme et de Télécommunications, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, Boulevard Dolez 31, B-7000 Mons, Belgium. sciamanna@telecom.fpms.ac.be
Optics Letters
|September 6, 2003
Summary
Weak optical feedback in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers causes random, anticorrelated polarization mode hopping. This phenomenon is accompanied by rapid intensity oscillations, suggesting a general characteristic of state-hopping dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Laser Physics
- Nonlinear Dynamics
Background:
- Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are crucial semiconductor devices.
- Understanding their behavior under external optical feedback is vital for applications.
- Polarization dynamics in VCSELs are complex and sensitive to feedback.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of weak, polarization-insensitive optical feedback on VCSELs.
- To analyze the resulting polarization mode hopping and intensity dynamics.
- To explore the theoretical underpinnings of observed phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Experimental investigation of VCSELs under controlled optical feedback.
- Theoretical modeling using stochastic delay differential equations.
- Analysis of polarization mode hopping and intensity oscillations.
Main Results:
- Observed random, anticorrelated hopping between orthogonal linearly polarized modes.
- Detected rapid, anticorrelated intensity oscillations at the external-cavity frequency.
- Identified these oscillations as characteristic of delay-induced state hopping.
Conclusions:
- Weak optical feedback can induce complex polarization dynamics in VCSELs.
- The observed mode hopping and oscillations are linked to delayed dynamics.
- The findings offer insights into general state-hopping phenomena in delayed systems.