Realization of a semiconductor-based cavity soliton laser

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Semiconductor Lasers
• Nonlinear Optics

Background:

• Cavity soliton lasers offer unique light emission properties.
• Vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor gain structures are key components in laser technology.
• All-optical control is crucial for advanced photonic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the realization of a cavity soliton laser.
• To demonstrate all-optical control of bistable solitonic emission states.
• To investigate the potential of this system for all-optical processing.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor gain structure.
• Coupled the gain structure to an external cavity with a frequency-selective element.
• Employed injection of an external beam for all-optical control.

Main Results:

• Successfully realized a cavity soliton laser.
• Demonstrated all-optical control of bistable solitonic emission states (microlasers).
• Showcased the phase-insensitive nature of the control scheme and the mobility of the solitons.

Conclusions:

• The developed cavity soliton laser enables robust, all-optical control of microlaser emission.
• The phase-insensitive control scheme is suitable for all-optical processing applications.
• The demonstrated mobility of solitons opens possibilities for integrated photonic systems.