Photonic integrated circuits unveil crisis-induced intermittency

Area of Science:

• Nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory
• Photonics and optical engineering
• Semiconductor laser physics

Background:

• Semiconductor lasers with time-delayed optical feedback exhibit complex dynamics.
• Understanding routes to chaos is crucial for laser applications.
• Intermittency is a complex dynamical phenomenon observed in various systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate an intermittent route to chaos in a photonic integrated circuit.
• To unveil the bifurcation mechanism underlying this intermittent chaos.
• To highlight the role of steady-state solutions in time-delayed feedback systems.

Main Methods:

• Experimental setup using a semiconductor laser with time-delayed optical feedback.
• Analysis of the transition from period-doubling to fully-developed chaos.
• Theoretical modeling using the Lang-Kobayashi equations.
• Investigation of local Lyapunov exponent distributions and attractor expansion.

Main Results:

• Observed an intermittent route to chaos in the photonic integrated circuit.
• Identified attractor expansion, initiated by local Lyapunov exponent distribution, as the bifurcation mechanism.
• Demonstrated the crucial role of steady-state solution distribution in enabling intermittent dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The study reveals a novel intermittent route to chaos in semiconductor lasers.
• Attractor expansion driven by Lyapunov exponent distribution is key to this intermittency.
• Time-delayed feedback's influence on steady-state solutions is critical for intermittent dynamics.