Open AccessNon-Hermitian arrangement for stable semiconductor laser arrays
Author(s) -
Judith Medina Pardell,
R. Herrero,
Muriel Botey,
Kęstutis Staliūnas
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.425860
Subject(s) - semiconductor laser theory , physics , optics , laser , coupling (piping) , hermitian matrix , diode , transverse plane , semiconductor , electric field , materials science , optoelectronics , quantum mechanics , structural engineering , metallurgy , engineering
We propose and explore a physical mechanism for the stabilization of the complex spatiotemporal dynamics in arrays (bars) of broad area laser diodes taking advantage of the symmetry breaking in non-Hermitian potentials. We show that such stabilization can be achieved by specific pump and index profiles leading to a PT-symmetric coupling between nearest neighboring lasers within the semiconductor bar. A numerical analysis is performed using a complete (2 + 1)-dimensional space-temporal model, including transverse and longitudinal spatial degrees of freedom and temporal evolution of the electric field and carriers. We show regimes of temporal stabilization and light emission spatial redistribution and enhancement. We also consider a simplified (1 + 1)-dimensional model for an array of lasers holding the proposed non-Hermitian coupling with a global axisymmetric geometry. We numerically demonstrate a two-fold benefit: the control over the temporal dynamics over the EELs bar and the field concentration on the central lasers leading to a brighter output beam, facilitating a direct coupling to an optical fiber.