Direct observation of the class-B to class-A transition in the dynamical behavior of a semiconductor laser

• Published in: Europhysics letters Vol. 87; no. 4; pp. 44005 - 44009
• Main Authors: Baili, G, Alouini, M, Malherbe, T, Dolfi, D, Sagnes, I, Bretenaker, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.08.2009; EDP Sciences; European Physical Society / EDP Sciences / Società Italiana di Fisica / IOP Publishing
• Subjects: 05.40.Ca; 42.55.Ah; 42.60.Mi; Optics; Physics
• ISSN: 0295-5075; 1286-4854
• DOI: 10.1209/0295-5075/87/44005

The transition between the class-B and class-A dynamical behaviors of a semiconductor laser is directly observed by continuously controlling the lifetime of the photons in a cavity of sub-millimetric to centimetric length. It is experimentally and theoretically proved that the transition from a resonant to an overdamped behavior occurs progressively, without any discontinuity. In particular, the intermediate regime is found to exhibit features typical from both the class-A and class-B regimes. The laser intensity noise is proved to be a powerful probe of the laser dynamical behavior.