Onset of instabilities in self-pulsing semiconductor lasers with delayed feedback

Abstract

We consider the deterministic dynamics of a semiconductor laser with saturable absorber that is subject to delayed optical feedback. Alone, both the saturable absorber and delayed feedback cause the CW output to become unstable to periodic output via Hopf bifurcations. We examine the combined effects of these two destabilizing mechanisms to determine new conditions for the Hopf bifurcations. We also describe the transient as the unstable CW output evolves to the oscillatory state. A main result is that the presence of a saturable absorber can increase the sensitivity of the laser to delayed feedback.