Abstract
We present a theoretical study of the nonlinear dynamics of a long external cavity delayed optical feedback-induced interband cascade laser (ICL). Using the modified Lang–Kobayashi equations, we numerically investigate the effects of some key parameters on the first Hopf bifurcation point of ICL with optical feedback, such as the delay time (τf), pump current (I), linewidth enhancement factor (LEF), stage number (m) and feedback strength (fext). It is found that compared with τf, I, LEF and m have a significant effect on the stability of the ICL. Additionally, our results show that an ICL with few stage numbers subjected to external cavity optical feedback is more susceptible to exhibiting chaos. The chaos bandwidth dependences on m, I and fext are investigated, and 8 GHz bandwidth mid-infrared chaos is observed.
Highlights
As a mid-infrared semiconductor laser, the interband cascade laser (ICL) has made significant progress in the last two decades [1,2,3,4,5,6]
In contrast to the quantum cascade laser (QCL), the ICL is a bipolar device, with the electronic transition of the ICL occurring between the conduction and the valence sub-bands [13]
A recent report shows that based on a QCL with external optical feedback, a generated mid-infrared low frequency chaotic oscillation was used to achieve 0.5 Mbit/s message private free-space optical communication [17]
Summary
As a mid-infrared semiconductor laser, the interband cascade laser (ICL) has made significant progress in the last two decades [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In recent experimental reports the linewidth enhancement factor of the ICL was found to be about 2.2, which is much higher than that of QCL [14,15]. Both of these characteristics suggest that when subjected to external perturbation, the ICL will exhibit rich nonlinear dynamics. Wang et al.’s recent experiments confirm that with external optical feedback the ICL exhibits periodic oscillations and weak chaos [16]. A recent report shows that based on a QCL with external optical feedback, a generated mid-infrared low frequency chaotic oscillation was used to achieve 0.5 Mbit/s message private free-space optical communication [17]. The steady-state solutions for the ICL operating above the threshold current are as follows [29]: N
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