Low-frequency relative intensity noise in self-pulsating ridge-waveguide quantum-well lasers

Self-pulsating diode lasers are used in optical systems in which optical coherence is undesirable. The relative intensity noise behavior of self-pulsating lasers at frequencies below the self-pulsating frequency is investigated both theoretically and experimentally, and is compared to the relative intensity noise behavior of conventional non-self-pulsating lasers. It is shown that the predictions of the relative intensity noise of self-pulsating lasers can be made based on a simple conjecture for a dynamically unstable system and yield good empirical agreement with experimental results.<>