https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2004-00141-0
Spatial decorrelation in broad-area edge-emitting semiconductor amplifiers
1
Institut Non-linéaire de Nice, UMR 6618 CNRS, Université de Nice
Sophia-Antipolis, 06560 Valbonne, France
2
INFM, Dipartimento di Scienze,
Universitá dell'Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy
3
INFM, Dipartimento di Fisica Interateneo,
Universitá e Politecnico di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy
Corresponding author: a massimo.giudici@inln.cnrs.fr
Received:
29
June
2004
Published online:
26
October
2004
We analyze experimentally the spatio-temporal dynamics of the transverse structures appearing in broad area edge-emitting semiconductor amplifiers under CW optical injection. We demonstrate that, in certain conditions, the light reflected by the system exhibits a multipeaked structure whose dependence on the parameters suggests an interpretation in terms of cavity solitons. These structures can exhibit self-pulsations with periods of the order of few milliseconds, which we explain in terms of regenerative thermal oscillations. In a particular device, we generate two single-peak structures which are spatially uncorrelated, as required for cavity solitons. A microscopic model shows good agreement with the main body of the experimental results.
PACS: 42.70.Nq – Other nonlinear optical materials; photorefractive and semiconductor materials / 42.65.Tg – Optical solitons; nonlinear guided waves
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2005