Class-C semiconductor lasers with time-delayed optical feedback

We perform a linear stability analysis and numerical bifurcation diagrams of a class-C laser with time-delayed optical feedback. We employ a rate equation system based on the Maxwell–Bloch equations, and study the influence of the dephasing time on the laser dynamics. We find a stabilizing effect of an intermediate dephasing time, i.e. when moving from a class-B to a class-C laser. At long dephasing times, a destabilization of the laser solution occurs by a feedback-induced unlocking of Rabi oscillations at the second laser threshold. We predict an optimum resistance to time-delayed optical feedback for dephasing times close to the photon cavity lifetime. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Nonlinear dynamics of delay systems’.