Eur. Phys. J. D 17, 67-74 (2001)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100530170038

An analytical study of a periodically driven laser with a saturable absorber

¹ Department of Mathematics, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0156, USA
² Université Libre de Bruxelles, Optique Nonlinéaire Théorique, Campus Plaine, C.P. 231, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium

Corresponding authors: ^a tcarr@mail.smu.edu - ^b terneux@ulb.ac.be

Received: 10 March 2001
Published online: 15 October 2001

Abstract

We consider the rate equations for a laser with an intracavity saturable absorber and subject to a periodically modulated pump. By deriving simplified equations for a map valid for strongly pulsating regimes, analytical conditions are determined that specify the properties of both frequency-locked and unlocked behaviors. As the strength of the modulation is increased, quasiperiodic and period-doubling bifurcations are predicted. However, only the transition from locking to non-locking through a quasiperiodic bifurcation is possible for realistic values of the parameters. Our results are consistent with previous numerical and experimental studies of modulated lasers with a saturable absorber.