Gabor Mezosi

Exploring Multistability in Semiconductor Ring Lasers: Theory and Experiment

We report the first experimental observation of multistable states in a single-longitudinal mode semiconductor ring laser. We show how the operation of the device can be steered to either monostable, bistable, or multistable dynamical regimes in a controlled way. We observe that the dynamical regimes are organized in well-reproducible sequences that match the bifurcation diagrams of a two-dimensional model. By analyzing the phase space in this model, we predict how the stochastic transitions between multistable states take place and confirm it experimentally.

Unidirectional Bistability in AlGaInAs Microring and Microdisk Semiconductor Lasers

We report on room-temperature continuous-wave operation and single-mode lasing of microdisk and microring lasers with radii as small as 7 mum. The waveguide sidewall roughness was minimized by an optimized fabrication process using hydrogen silsesquioxane e-beam resist and Cl 2-CH 3-H 2 inductively coupled plasma etching. The devices show unidirectional bistability between the counterpropagating modes for radii larger than 30 mu m and a strong hybrid output polarization for radii smaller than 15 mum with a transverse-magnetic component of approximately 30%.

Integrated Small-Sized Semiconductor Ring Laser With Novel Retro-Reflector Cavity

We have successfully designed and fabricated 1.55-mum semiconductor ring lasers with novel parabolic mirror retro-reflector cavities. The parabolic mirror is designed by means of ray-tracing and finite-difference time-domain to optimize its shape and position. The fabricated devices, with a range of sizes down to an equivalent circular ring radius of 16 mum, operate in continuous-wave mode at room temperature. Threshold current of 22 mA and output power up to 140 muW have been achieved for the smallest device. These devices are suitable for high-speed all-optical signal processing and digital photonic functions.

Excitability in optical systems close to Z2-symmetry

Abstract We report theoretically and experimentally on excitability in semiconductor ring lasers in order to reveal a mechanism of excitability, general for systems close to Z 2 -symmetry. The global shapes of the invariant manifolds of a saddle in the vicinity of a homoclinic loop determine the origin of excitability and the features of the excitable pulses. We show how to experimentally make a semiconductor ring laser excitable by breaking the Z 2 -symmetry in a controlled way. The experiments confirm the theoretical predictions.

Spectral Dynamical Behavior in Passively Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers

In this paper, we present an experimental and theoretical study of passive mode-locking in semiconductor Fabry-Pérot, quantum-well, lasers operating at around 1550 nm and producing picosecond pulses at a repetition frequency of 40 GHz. The different regimes that occur as the reverse bias voltage applied to the saturable absorber (SA) section or the bias current injected into the amplifier section are characterized both in the time and frequency/wavelength domains. Our results reveal that the lasers display spectral competition between the gain of the amplifier section and the absorption of the SA, with variations of the lasing wavelength up to 25 nm as the bias conditions are changed. These wavelength variations result from the thermal drift of the SA band-edge due to Joule heating by the generated photocurrent and from the competition between two possible lasing regions placed either at the amplifier gain peak or near the band-edge of the SA. The experimental observations are satisfactorily reproduced and explained in the framework of a Traveling Wave Model complemented by a time-domain description of the semiconductor susceptibility.

All-Optical Response of Semiconductor Ring Laser to Dual-Optical Injections

The all-optical response of a semiconductor ring laser (SRL) to two optical injections is characterized. Once the lasing direction is locked by one optical injection, the SRL direction of operation can be switched by another optical injection into the counterpropagating direction. The switching process manifests a typical bistable hysteresis loop, with its width and switching thresholds variable by the first injection power. Extremely sharp transition has been measured which confirms the potential of the SRL for all-optical regeneration applications.

Topological Insight into the Non-Arrhenius Mode Hopping of Semiconductor Ring Lasers

We investigate both theoretically and experimentally the stochastic switching between two counterpropagating lasing modes of a semiconductor ring laser. Experimentally, the residence time distribution cannot be described by a simple one-parameter Arrhenius exponential law and reveals the presence of two different mode-hop scenarios with distinct time scales. In order to elucidate the origin of these two time scales, we propose a topological approach based on a two-dimensional dynamical system.

Generation and Modulation of Tunable mm-Wave Optical Signals Using Semiconductor Ring Laser

Optical injection locking and cavity enhanced four-wave mixing in semiconductor ring lasers have been used to generate data modulated millimeter (mm)-wave optical signals. The scheme is shown to have multigigahertz (multi-GHz) modulation bandwidth. The 4-Gb/s data is transferred directly from an intensity modulated optical signal onto an mm-wave optical signal with the mm-wave frequency tunable in steps of 62.5 GHz and with flexible radio-frequency modulation formats over the optical carrier. Bit-error-rate and eye-diagram measurements confirm excellent signal quality.

All-Optical Label Swapping Using Bistable Semiconductor Ring Laser in an Optical Switching Node

This paper demonstrates an optical node that simultaneously carries out multicast optical switching and all-optical label swapping. While the optical payload is being forwarded by a fast optical switch matrix, the optical label is processed by a semiconductor ring laser (SRL) bistable. Old address bits in the label are erased by optically blocking the switching of the ring laser and new address bits are inserted by modulating the output from SRL directly. This label swapping scheme is the first demonstration of bit-level data processing using the all-optical logic capabilities of a semiconductor ring laser.

Frequency-Domain Model of Longitudinal Mode Interaction in Semiconductor Ring Lasers

A general and comprehensive frequency-domain model of longitudinal mode interactions in semiconductor ring lasers (SRLs) is presented, including nonlinear terms related to third order nonlinear susceptibilities χ3 and also linear terms due to back scattering between counter-propagating modes. The model can handle a large number of modes and complex third order nonlinear processes such as self-suppression, cross-suppression and four wave mixing occurring due to both interband and intraband effects. Every aspect of the lasing characteristics of SRLs, including lasing spectra, light-current curves and lasing direction hysteresis, can be reproduced by the model. To assess the performance and validity of the model, several miniaturized SRLs are designed, fabricated and tested. Stable unidirectional lasing in SRLs is also demonstrated by introducing asymmetric feedback from external facets. Good agreement between theoretical and experimental results is demonstrated.