title: Observation of chaotic itinerancy in the light and carrier dynamics of a semiconductor laser with optical feedback.
abstract: We report a direct experimental observation of chaotic itinerancy in simultaneous measurements of the light intensity and voltage fluctuations of a laser diode exhibiting low-frequency fluctuations. The distribution of trajectories leading up to (following) an intensity dropout is computed from the experiment and reveals the presence of itinerant mechanisms before (after) dropout initiation. A phase space reconstruction of the trajectory for the optimal path of motion illustrates sudden shifts between low-dimensional attractor ruins and is shown to correspond to simulations of the laser intensity and carrier number.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: Wing-Shun
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Parvez N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Guzdar
authors.forename: Rajarshi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roy