Dynamics of a semiconductor laser under the influence of multi-section feedback: applications to chaos-based communications

Abstract

This paper reports the numerical results of the dynamical behavior of a novel integrated semiconductor laser subject to multiple optical feedback loops. Due to the influence of the feedback, under appropriate conditions, the system exhibits a strong chaotic behavior suitable for chaos-based communications. We demonstrate the effect of the relevant device parameters on the laser dynamics and show that the properties of the external cavity and its position in the device have a considerable influence on the chaotic behavior of the laser. The synchronization of two unidirectionally coupled lasers is studied numerically. Finally, we find appropriate conditions for message encoding by a chaos modulation technique using compact lasers under the influence of multiple-feedback loops.