Dynamics Versus Feedback Delay Time in Photonic Integrated Circuits: Mapping the Short Cavity Regime

We report a comprehensive experimental investigation of the nonlinear dynamics yielded in five photonic integrated circuits, each consisting of a semiconductor laser with optical feedback from a short external cavity. The external cavity lengths are different for each laser and range from 1.3 to 10.3 mm, allowing analysis of the dependence of the dynamical scenario on the feedback delay time. We draw two-dimensional bifurcation diagrams and study the relative predominance of the different dynamics exhibited in each laser when the feedback strength and the laser injection current are varied. We identify that, in the commonly termed short cavity regime, small variations of the external cavity length can result in totally different dynamical distributions, suggesting the possibility to use the feedback delay time as a means to control laser behaviors.