Title :
Nonlinear dynamics of semiconductor laser arrays
Author :
Winful, Herbert G.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Abstract :
The simulated output is shown of a 2-stripe index guided array and a 4-stripe gain guided array under constant pump conditions. The results of the partial differential equation (PDE) model for the strongly-index-guided array confirm the predictions of coupled-mode theory. The pulsations observed in laser arrays have several origins. One is the breakdown of phase locking due to amplitude-phase coupling. Another is the beating between multiple lateral modes which can drive the relaxation oscillations. A third mechanism is related to saturable absorption in the unpumped inter-element regions. We elucidate these mechanisms and present experimental results for index guided, antiguided, and gain guided arrays.
Keywords :
coupled mode analysis; laser modes; laser theory; optical saturable absorption; semiconductor laser arrays; waveguide lasers; 2-stripe index guided array; 4-stripe gain guided array; amplitude-phase coupling; antiguided arrays; beating; constant pump conditions; coupled-mode theory; gain guided arrays; index guided arrays; multiple lateral modes; nonlinear dynamics; partial differential equation model; phase locking breakdown; pulsations; relaxation oscillations; saturable absorption; semiconductor laser arrays; simulated output; strongly-index-guided array; unpumped inter-element regions; Absorption; Electric breakdown; Laser mode locking; Laser modes; Laser theory; Optical arrays; Partial differential equations; Predictive models; Pump lasers; Semiconductor laser arrays;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics Society Annual Meeting, 1996. LEOS 96., IEEE
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3160-5
DOI :
10.1109/LEOS.1996.571685
