Experimental determination of key parameters in the spin-flip model of 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

Abstract

Spin-flip model (SFM) is a mostly used approach to analyzing the nonlinear dynamics of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), and therefore the value selections of some key parameters in this model are crucial. In this work, based on experimentally measured dynamical characteristics of a 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (1550 nm-VCSEL) under free running and parallel optical injection, some key parameters (field decay rate k, total carrier decay rate N, linewidth enhancement factor , active medium birefringence rate p, spin relaxation rate s, and active medium linear dispersion rate a) are estimated. Through experimentally measuring the noise spectrum of the laser, the relaxation oscillation frequency and the damping rate of the relaxation oscillations are calculated, and the photon lifetime can be preliminary estimated. After further amending the photon lifetime by considering the effect of the gain saturation on the damping rate of the relaxation oscillations, the value of k is determined. Based on the function relation between the laser relaxation oscillation frequency and the electrical pumping, the value of N is obtained. By experimentally acquiring the dynamical distribution mapping of the laser under parallel optical injection, the minimum Hopf bifurcation point of the Hopf bifurcation curve can be found, and then the value of is roughly estimated. According to the frequency difference between the two polarization components of the laser in the measured optical spectrum, the value of p can be calculated. The value of s is obtained by using the relationship between s and p. On the basis of the above determined parameter values, the value of a can be specified by numerically simulating the optical spectrum of the laser and comparing with experimentally obtained results. Moreover, by comparing the experimentally measured dynamical mapping of optical injection VCSEL with corresponding dynamical mapping simulated on the basis of the above mentioned parameters, the value of is rectified. Finally, further simulated results agree with relevant experimental observations.