Abstract

We study the space–time dynamical behavior of broad-area semiconductor lasers, using an extended phenomenological laser model to include transverse diffraction of the counterpropagating optical fields and transverse diffusion of carriers. Numerical results show that the profile of the output intensity exhibits spatiotemporal chaos by way of changing random filaments. A small confinement factor and/or linewidth enhancement factor can prevent instabilities. Simulations also confirm experimental results showing that a half-symmetric unstable resonator with a suitable mirror curvature restores stability.

© 1993 Optical Society of America

Pulse trapping and nonequilibrium spatiotemporal wave mixing in broad-area semiconductor lasers

E. Gehrig and O. Hess
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 15(12) 2861-2867 (1998)

Semiconductor laser array dynamics: numerical simulations on multistripe index-guided lasers

H. Adachihara, O. Hess, R. Indik, and J. V. Moloney
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 10(3) 496-506 (1993)

Stabilization of chaotic spatiotemporal filamentation in large broad area lasers by spatially structured optical feedback

Christian Simmendinger, Dietmar Preißr, and Ortwin Hess
Opt. Express 5(3) 48-54 (1999)

Control of the spatiotemporal emission of a broad-area semiconductor laser by spatially filtered feedback

Shyam K. Mandre, Ingo Fischer, and Wolfgang Elssser
Opt. Lett. 28(13) 1135-1137 (2003)

Ultrafast active phase conjugation in broad-area semiconductor laser amplifiers

Edeltraud Gehrig and Ortwin Hess
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 18(7) 1036-1040 (2001)