UCLA

Analysis of the limit-cycle, also known as period-one (P1), dynamics induced by strong optical injection to a semiconductor laser is carried out. Based on the well-established laser rate equations, an approximate solution of the P1 dynamics can be obtained by starting with a general limit-cycle solution. Our results are in good agreement with numerical and experimental results by taking the second harmonic of the P1 frequency into account. Our analysis shows that the strong coupling between the oscillating carrier density and the oscillating optical field is responsible for the high nonlinearity of these P1 dynamics.