title: Dynamics of two laterally coupled semiconductor lasers: strong- and weak-coupling theory.
abstract: The stability and nonlinear dynamics of two semiconductor lasers coupled side to side via evanescent waves are investigated by using three different models. In the composite-cavity model, the coupling between the lasers is accurately taken into account by calculating electric field profiles (composite-cavity modes) of the whole coupled-laser system. A bifurcation analysis of the composite-cavity model uncovers how different types of dynamics, including stationary phase-locking, periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic intensity oscillations, are organized. In the individual-laser model, the coupling between individual lasers is introduced phenomenologically with ad hoc coupling terms. Comparison with the composite-cavity model reveals drastic differences in the dynamics. To identify the causes of these differences, we derive a coupled-laser model with coupling terms which are consistent with the solution of the wave equation and the relevant boundary conditions. This coupled-laser model reproduces the dynamics of the composite-cavity model under weak-coupling conditions.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Erzgräber
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wieczorek
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krauskopf