Chaotic pulsing and quasi-periodic route to chaos in a semiconductor laser with delayed opto-electronic feedback

Chaotic pulsing and the route to chaos in a semiconductor laser with delayed, positive opto-electronic feedback are investigated numerically and experimentally. Both numerical simulation and experimental observation indicate that the laser enters a chaotic pulsing state at certain delay times of the feedback loop through a quasi-periodic route. The characteristics of each dynamical state are analyzed. The chaotic pulsing state is verified with a positive Lyapunov exponent and a fractal correlation dimension. The experimental results show very good qualitative agreement with the numerical results. Quantitative discrepancy between experimental and numerical results can be explained by the bandpass characteristics of the electronic feedback loop.