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Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics
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Using Disorder to Overcome Disorder: A Mechanism for Frequency and Phase Synchronization of Diode Laser Arrays.
1The College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL), University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|November 5, 2021
Summary
Disorder in semiconductor laser arrays can surprisingly enhance coherence. This study reveals a new mechanism where one type of disorder mitigates desynchronization caused by another, stabilizing laser array dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Optics
- Nonlinear Dynamics
Background:
- Noise and disorder can paradoxically improve coherence in certain systems.
- Previous examples include enhanced response to periodic signals and suppression of chaotic behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a novel disorder-enhancing mechanism in external cavity-coupled semiconductor laser arrays.
- To demonstrate stabilization of dynamical states through frequency and phase locking.
Main Methods:
- Modeling the dynamics of external cavity-coupled semiconductor laser arrays.
- Analyzing a reduced potential model to illustrate synchronization mechanisms.
Main Results:
- A new disorder-enhancing mechanism was identified where one disorder type counteracts desynchronization from another.
- Stabilization of dynamical states was achieved via frequency locking.
- Frequency locking induced phase locking, leading to overall synchronization.
Conclusions:
- Disorder can be leveraged to overcome desynchronization in complex systems like laser arrays.
- The findings offer insights into controlling and enhancing coherence in optical systems through engineered disorder.
