Nonlinear dynamics of self-pulsing external cavity semiconductor injection lasers

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Abstract
Instabilities and bistability in long external cavities containing self-pulsing laser diodes are reported. The selfpulsing frequency locks to successive harmonics of the external-cavity resonance as the drive current is increased. The light-power current characteristic exhibits kinks at the transition points, and the laser is unstable when biased at these kinks. This slow instability is suppressed by reduction of the external-cavity length below a critical value. Instability is also suppressed and bistability is observed when a laser operating in the first-order transverse mode is placed in the cavity.