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.