Research on the Spiking Dynamics and Controlled Transmission of Semiconductor Ring Laser Photonic Neurons

In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive numerical study on the spiking dynamics characteristics and communication between unidirectionally coupled photonic neurons based on semiconductor ring lasers (SRLs). Firstly, we investigate the impact of external perturbation time, perturbation intensity, and frequency detuning on the spiking output of the first photonic neuron, the transmitting semiconductor ring laser (T-SRL). The results indicate that by adjusting the perturbation time of the external signal injected into the T-SRL, the generation of spiking signals can be precisely controlled, achieving controllability and repeatability. It is noteworthy that the bistable nature of SRLs results in similar characteristics in the outputs of the clockwise (CW) and counter clockwise (CCW) modes. Additionally, within the set parameter range, the number of spiking pulses increases as frequency detuning decreases. Subsequently, these spiking responses generated by the T-SRL can be successfully transmitted to the second photonic neuron, the receiving semiconductor ring laser (R-SRL), which responds by firing identical spiking pulses. These behaviors are analogous to the response mechanisms of neurons in the brain but occur at a sub-nanosecond scale. More importantly, we successfully demonstrate stable spiking transmission between the two SRLs photonic neurons. This discovery reveals significant potential for the application of SRLs-based photonic neuron networks in neuromorphic computing platforms.