Dynamical properties of a laser diode with optical feedback from an external high-finesse resonator

The effect of coupling optically a laser diode to a high-finesse external resonator is described. The authors take into account multiple roundtrips in the external cavity and the carrier finite life-time in the diode laser. The rate equations are studied analytically. Steady states are obtained and their stability determined. Numerical resolution of the equations leads to predicting self-pulsing modes of operation. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first numerical study of the laser diode rate equations with an infinite number of delay terms. The main result is a stabilization effect due to the high-finesse cavity; neither deterministic chaos nor complicated bifurcation schemes have been found.<
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