Stable Propagation of Inhibited Spiking Dynamics in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers for Neuromorphic Photonic Networks

We investigate experimentally and theoretically the communication of inhibited spiking dynamics between two interlinked photonic neurons based upon the vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). We show that the sub-nanosecond speed spiking dynamics fired by a Transmitter-VCSEL (T-VCSEL) can be inhibited under the arrival of suitable external stimuli and that the inhibited spiking behaviors are propagated into another Receiver-VCSEL (R-VCSEL). Both VCSELs exhibit analogous inhibited spiking dynamics in response to stimuli with different temporal durations and strength. In addition, a very good agreement is found between theoretical simulations and experiments. These results offer greater prospects for future networks of VCSEL-based photonic neurons for neuromorphic computing platforms.