Complex Dynamics of Semiconductor Quantum Dot Lasers Subject to Delayed Optical Feedback

Otto, Christian; Globisch, Björn; Lüdge, Kathy; Schöll, Eckehard; Erneux, Thomas

doi:10.1142/s021812741250246x

Cited by 54 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Similiar results were also found for systems of globally coupled phase oscillators [33]. It is well established that strong amplitude-phase coupling is able to induce multistability in single lasers with optical feedback [64,65]. We observe the same behaviour for laser networks.…”

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confidence: 84%

Amplitude-phase coupling drives chimera states in globally coupled laser networks

et al. 2015

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For a globally coupled network of semiconductor lasers with delayed optical feedback, we demonstrate the existence of chimera states. The domains of coherence and incoherence that are typical for chimera states are found to exist for the amplitude, phase, and inversion of the coupled lasers. These chimera states defy several of the previously established existence criteria. While chimera states in phase oscillators generally demand nonlocal coupling, large system sizes, and specially prepared initial conditions, we find chimera states that are stable for global coupling in a network of only four coupled lasers for random initial conditions. The existence is linked to a regime of multistability between the synchronous steady state and asynchronous periodic solutions. We show that amplitude-phase coupling, a concept common in different fields, is necessary for the formation of the chimera states. Synchronization is a common phenomenon in interacting nonlinear dynamical systems in various fields of research such as physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, or socioeconomic sciences [1][2][3]. While a lot of knowledge has been gained on the origin of complete synchronization, more complex partial synchronization patterns have only recently become the focus of intense research. We still lack a full understanding of these phenomena, and a very prominent example are chimera states where an ensemble of identical elements self-organizes into spatially separated coexisting domains of coherent (synchronized) and incoherent (desynchronized) dynamics [4,5]. Since their first discovery a decade ago many theoretical investigations of coupled phase oscillators and other simplified models have been carried out [6,7] [7,16,17], e.g., spiral wave chimeras [18,19], FitzHugh-Nagumo neural systems [20], Stuart-Landau oscillators [21][22][23], where pure amplitude chimeras [24] were found, or quantum interference devices [25]. In real-world systems chimera states might play a role, e.g., in the unihemispheric sleep of birds and dolphins [26], in neuronal bump states [27,28], in power grids [29], or in social systems [30].Although no universal mechanism for the formation of chimera states has yet been established, three general essential requirements have been found in many studies: (i) a large number of coupled elements, (ii) non-local coupling, and (iii) specific initial conditions. These were primarily derived from the phase oscillator model [7] but also apply to other systems. If these conditions are not met, the chimera states tend to have very short lifetimes. Recent studies, however, suggest that these paradigms can be broken and chimera states are observed also for small system sizes [31], global coupling [15,23,32,33] and random initial conditions [34].Surprisingly, chimera states appear at the interface of independent fields of research putting together different scientific communities. Recent examples are quantum chimera state [35] or coexistence of coherent and incoherent patterns with respect to the modes of an optical com...

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confidence: 84%

Amplitude-phase coupling drives chimera states in globally coupled laser networks

et al. 2015

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“…This decreased sensitivity is commonly attributed to the higher relaxation-oscillation damping of quantum-dot lasers. This is supported by analytic calculations, showing that the critical feedback strength, at which the first bifurcations of cw-solutions appear, depends approximately linearly on the relaxation-oscillation damping [OTT12].…”

Section: Quantum-dot Laser Dynamics Under Optical Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 58%

Nonlinear and Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Quantum-Dot Optoelectronic Devices

Lingnau

2015

Springer Theses

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In this thesis the dynamics and performance of optoelectronic devices based on semiconductor quantum-dots are investigated.In the first part, the dynamics of quantum-dot lasers under external perturbations is discussed. Using a microscopically based balance equation model that incorporates detailed charge-carrier scattering dynamics and the possibility to describe nonequilibrium between intra-band electronic states, the relaxation oscillations of the quantum-dot laser are investigated. Three qualitatively different dynamic regimes are identified in dependence of the scattering rates -the "constantreservoir" regime for slow scattering, the "overdamped" regime, and the "synchronized" regime for high scattering -characterized by a varying degree of nonequilibrium between the quantum-dot and reservoir states.Important differences to conventional lasers are found in the modulation response and the dynamics in optical injection and feedback setups. Common theoretical models and approaches used to describe these applications are shown to yield inaccurate predictions, especially in the "constant-reservoir" and "overdamped" dynamic regimes. An important consequence is that the amplitude-phase coupling in quantum-dot lasers, commonly described by the α-factor, differs from conventional descriptions due to the desynchronization of gain and refractive index. While the α-factor describes bifurcations of fixed points accurately, it fails in describing dynamic solutions and overestimates the extent of complex dynamics. The observed low sensitivity to optical perturbations in quantum-dot lasers can therefore be attributed partly to the charge-carrier nonequilibrium. Three quantum-dot laser models on different levels of sophistication are presented that can accurately describe the quantum-dot nonequilibrium dynamics.In the second part of the thesis, the performance of quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers is investigated, and two types of applications unique to quantum-dots as active medium are discussed. The ground and excited states of the quantum-dots allow an ultra-broad-band amplification of optical data streams. Amplified signals on the ground-state frequencies are shown to generally exhibit higher quality than on the excited state, due to a lower sensitivity of the groundstate to carrier-density variations. Nevertheless the quantum-dot amplifier is found to allow effective amplification on both frequency ranges. Furthermore, a parameter range is identified that allows for a simultaneous amplification of data signals on the ground and excited state in a counter-propagating setup.The long microscopically polarization dephasing times in quantum-dots are found to enable quantum-coherent interactions on a macroscopic scale at room-temperature. By comparison with experiments, the occurrence of Rabi-oscillations by amplification of ultra-short pulses is demonstrated. Quantum-dot based devices could therefore be used for future applications based on quantum-coherent effects.

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“…Moreover these devices demonstrate interesting dynamical properties: reduced sensitivity to optical feedback [3], [4], class-A like behavior for optically injected devices [5], [6], polarization chaos in a QD vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser [7], desynchronized electron and hole dynamics [8]- [10] or simultaneous lasing from the ground (GS) and the excited states (ES) [11]- [13]. In this paper we consider the latter feature which appears to be of interest for a wide range of applications including THz generation [14], [15], two color mode-locking [16], [17] and all-optical processing, such as all-optical memory (as demonstrated with another type of twocolor laser diode [18], [19]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mode Competition Induced by Optical Feedback in Two-Color Quantum Dot Lasers

Virte

Panajotov

Sciamanna

2013

IEEE J. Quantum Electron.

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We investigate theoretically the impact of optical feedback on quantum dot two-color laser dynamics when emitting from both the excited and the ground states. Detailed analysis of the laser dynamics is provided by numerical integrations and continuation techniques, as well as by analytical methods. As the feedback strength is increased the quantum dot laser undergoes a sequence of bifurcations involving steady-states, external cavity modes, self-pulsations and chaos. Furthermore, we report on two interesting mode competition results. First, the optical feedback favors the ground state emission; hence an increase of the feedback strength will generally lead to an increase of the ground state emission output power. Second, the optical feedback can select one lasing state or induce bistable switchings between different steady-states depending on the feedback strength and the injection current.

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Complex Dynamics of Semiconductor Quantum Dot Lasers Subject to Delayed Optical Feedback

Cited by 54 publications

References 42 publications

Amplitude-phase coupling drives chimera states in globally coupled laser networks

Amplitude-phase coupling drives chimera states in globally coupled laser networks

Nonlinear and Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Quantum-Dot Optoelectronic Devices

Mode Competition Induced by Optical Feedback in Two-Color Quantum Dot Lasers

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