Analysis of optical chaos synchronization in frequency-detuned external-cavity VCSELs

We have studied the performance of a master-slave configuration for effecting the synchronization of detuned chaotic VCSELs by means of numerical simulations. The VCSELs are optically coupled and their dynamics are examined using a traveling wave model which is valid for any feedback regime. It is shown that the proposed configuration is capable of achieving synchronization for a wide range of detuning frequencies. However, synchronization is only possible if the differential phase change in the external cavity is equal to (or very close to) an integer number of /spl pi/.