Laser diode sources for chaotic optical communications

Given that considerable effort is currently being made to develop the capabilities of optical communications systems it is of some interest to consider chaos generators which may be easily accommodated in fibre-optic systems. The most direct approach to this issue is to seek means for utilising an existing component of optical communications systems as a chaos generator. It is particularly convenient that laser diodes-the optical source utilised in such systems-can exhibit chaotic dynamics in a number of regimes of operation. The present considers candidate laser diode configurations for utilisation as chaos generators and thus offering potential for applications of controlled chaos in optical communications systems