BARC/PUB/09/0351

 
  Tristability of a semiconductor laser due to time-delayed optical feedback  
     
 
Author(s)

Loose, A.; Goswami, B. K.; Wunsche, H. J.; Henneberger, F.

ABSTRACT

We present an experimental and theoretical study of multistability of a single-mode laser subject to feedback through phase tuning and amplifier sections integrated on the same chip. Closely above threshold, a regime of tristability of continuous-wave (CW) states is found for multiple ranges of amplifier and phase currents. The separation between the tristable wavelengths agrees with the channel spacing of dense wavelength multiplexing in the C band of optical communication making the device interesting for ternary logic applications. Complementary theoretical investigations in the framework of the paradigmatic Lang-Kobayashi model provide a consistent understanding of the experimental findings and additionally yield an analytic formula expressing the maximum number of coexisting stable CW states by the linewidth-enhancement factor a.  Tristability belongs to the a range from 5 to 8 in good agreement with experiment.

 
 
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