Abstract

We report experimental results on the irregular oscillations of self-pulsing semiconductor lasers under direct current modulation and when coupled to an external cavity. We have observed complex transitions among frequency-locked, quasi-periodic, and chaotic oscillations as the modulation current or the feedback ratio is varied. The underlying parameters that lead to these periodic and aperiodic oscillations have been determined, for the first time, by mapping out the structure of the frequency-locked states. The nature of the irregular oscillations and the effect of intrinsic noise have been analyzed by coupled-rate equations for carrier and photon densities for a laser with a fast saturable absorber.

© 1986 Optical Society of America