Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of Dynamical Regimes for Optically Injected Microdisk Lasers

Whispering-gallery mode microlasers have attracted great interests as an excellent configuration for photon confinement and on-chip photonic integration due to their high-quality (Q) factors and small mode volumes. In this paper, we investigate nonlinear dynamics and bifurcations for an optically injected microdisk laser experimentally and theoretically. Particular period-one oscillation regions with low sensitivity to fluctuations in frequency detuning are observed around the Hopf bifurcation suitable for photonic microwave generation. Direct modulation bandwidth enhanced to about 38 GHz is realized under strong optical injection. Furthermore, the behaviors of period-one and chaotic oscillations are investigated numerically, which indicates that an enhanced mode Q factor can improve the power and stability of the microwave generation.