Dependence of the experimental stability diagram of an optically injected semiconductor laser on the laser current

An experimental study of the dynamical properties of a semiconductor laser subjected to external optical injection is presented. The effect of the laser current on the dynamical regions as found in an experiment is reported on for the first time. The nonlinear dynamical regions are mapped in the parameter plane consisting of the detuning between lasers and the injection strength, by utilizing a method of condensing the information in output spectra to two-dimensional images. Corresponding maps for different values of the slave laser current are recorded. The recordings present conclusive experimental evidence that the overall locations of the dynamical regions scale with respect to the relaxation–oscillation frequency and the injection strength relative to the free running laser power. The results further support the theoretical prediction that the linewidth-enhancement factor is the parameter which most strongly affects the dynamics. Locally, specific chaotic regions are found to grow for higher operating points of the slave laser. A complete characterization of the parameters that enter the rate-equations for the visible output AlGaInP laser used in this experiment is performed.