Exploiting the Nonlinear Dynamics of Optically Injected Semiconductor Lasers for Optical Sensing

M. S. TORRE; C. MASOLLER

Photonics. Semiconductor Laser Dynamics: Fundamentals and Applications

Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Año: 2019 vol. 6 p. 45 - 51

2304-6732

Optically injected semiconductor lasers are known to display a rich variety of dynamic behaviours, including the emission of excitable pulses, and of rare giant pulses (often referred to as optical rogue waves). Here, we use a well-known rate equation model to explore the combined effect of excitability and extreme pulse emission, for the detection of variations in the strength of the injected field. We find parameter regions where the laser always responds to a perturbation by emitting an optical pulse whose amplitude is above a pre-defined detection threshold. We characterize the sensing capability of the laser in terms of the amplitude and the duration of the perturbation.