Speaker
Description
Where within the coherence collapse regime of the key nonlinear laser system – the semiconductor laser with delayed optical feedback (SLDOF) – is the output at its most incoherent? This is a question that has evaded a full answer for decades but has finally been addressed. The answer and its understanding relies on 1. theoretical and numerical simulation (Opt. Lett. 51, 596–599413 (2026)), and, 2. the analysis of the systematic variation in the effective coherence of the coherence collapsed output as a function of key system parameters (injection current and optical feedback fraction) from an experimental SLDOF system. External cavity mode beating, relaxation oscillations, and low-frequency fluctuations all play a role. The analysis of experimental data is based on a standard physical optics approach to coherence that has not been researched, nor applied, to this system previously. The new knowledge and understanding will allow all the key applications of the output from the coherence collapse regime of operation of the SLDOF, eg. synchronised chaotic transmitter/receiver secure communication and photonic reservoir computing, to be revisited. A meaningful relative quantitative measure of the coherence of the output can now be correlated with measures used to specify the quality of the technical specifications achieved for a specific application with a specific parameter set. This will enable identification of the optimal system specification for a given application. The results from the SLDOF system are also relevant to many nonlinear semiconductor-laser-based systems that have evolved from it and which have been used to achieve a range of improvements.
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