Hybridized Soliton Lasing in Coupled Semiconductor Lasers.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and optical engineering
• Nonlinear optics
• Quantum optics

Background:

• Coupling is fundamental to creating complex systems in nature.
• Understanding coupled optical systems is key to developing advanced photonic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a chip-scale coupled laser system exhibiting complex optical states.
• To investigate the unique properties of hybridized modes in coupled cavities.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication and characterization of a coupled semiconductor ring laser system.
• Experimental coherent waveform reconstruction to analyze optical states.
• Analysis of frequency comb generation and soliton dynamics.

Main Results:

• A coupled laser system spontaneously forms a frequency comb with phase-locked, anticrossing modes.
• Bright and dark picosecond solitons circulate simultaneously within the coupled cavity.
• Breathing bright solitons temporally overlap with dark solitons, a novel state.

Conclusions:

• Coupling laser elements breaks conventional rules for light states, enabling new optical phenomena.
• This work paves the way for designing intricate networks of coupled on-chip lasers.
• Demonstrates the potential for complex, engineered optical states through system coupling.