Impact of optical feedback on current-induced polarization behavior of 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Abstract

Polarization switching (PS) between two orthogonal linearly polarized fundamental modes is experimentally observed in commercial free-running 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) (Raycan). The characteristics of this PS are strongly modified after introducing a polarization-preserved (PP) or polarization-orthogonal (PO) optical feedback. Under the case that the external cavity is approximately 30 cm, the PP optical feedback results in the PS point shifting toward a lower injection current, and the region within which the two polarization modes coexist is enlarged with the increase of the PP feedback strength. Under too-strong PP feedback levels, the PS disappears. The impact of PO optical feedback on VCSEL polarization behavior is quite similar to that of PP optical feedback, but larger feedback strength is needed to obtain similar results.

Experimental investigations on nonlinear dynamics of a semiconductor laser subject to optical injection and fiber Bragg grating feedback

“…Diverse external disturbances such as optical injection, optical feedback, optoelectronic feedback, and current modulation have been introduced into semiconductor lasers (SLs), and their influences on the nonlinear dynamics of SLs have been widely investigated [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Among these external disturbances, optical injection and optical feedback are two commonly adopted schemes.…”

“…Under the case of unlocking, optical injection drives SL into unlocking dynamical states such as four-wave mixing, period one oscillation (P1), period two oscillation (P2), and chaos oscillation (CO) [8][9][10][11]. With optical feedback, stability, instability and chaos in SLs have been demonstrated [12][13][14][15][16][17]. On one hand, under strong optical feedback, the linewidth of SL can be stabilized [12].…”

“…On one hand, under strong optical feedback, the linewidth of SL can be stabilized [12]. On the other hand, for a certain range of optical feedback levels, SLs may behave unstable oscillations including P1, multi-periodic oscillation (MP), and CO [13][14][15][16][17]. Especially, in many particular application fields, both the optical injection and optical feedback may be needed to introduce into SLs simultaneously [18][19][20][21][22].…”

Nonlinear dynamics of polarization switching of a 1550-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser under orthogonal optical injection

“…At present, VCSELs can be fabricated with a wide wavelength range from visible to infrared, and their output powers can reach several tens of milliwatts. By introducing one or more external degrees of freedom such as optical feedback, optical injection, or optoelectronic feedback into VCSELs, complex nonlinear dynamics and bifurcations, such as period doubling, quasi-periodicity, or chaos can be generated [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. For short-wavelength VCSELs, previous reports demonstrated that by introducing orthogonal injection light into a VCSEL, a rich variety of nonlinear dynamical behaviors can be generated, and polarization switching (PS) or bistability (PB) may be observed [10][11][12][13].…”

Measurement of Temperature-Dependent Polarization Parameters in Long-Wavelength VCSELs

“…Less attention has been paid to polarization properties of long-wavelength VCSELs. Just a few works have considered the PS characteristics of these devices [17][18][19]. Only Type I PS has been found in these devices [17][18][19].…”