We investigate both theoretically and experimentally the noise-induced transitions between the counter-rotating lasing modes of a semiconductor ring laser (SRL). Our experiments reveal that the residence time distribution (RTD) cannot be described by a simple one-parameter Arrhenius exponential law, due to the presence of two well-separated time scales in the process. Time-series of the mode-resolved power reveal an intricate mode-hopping dynamics and the connection between the time scales in the RTD and different mode-hopping scenarios. A theoretical approach is proposed in order to elucidate the origin of the two time scales, as well as the features of the mode-hopping events. We argue that the presence of two time-scales in the system is due to the finiteness of the noise intensity in the system which allows for diffusion between different folds of the invariant manifolds. Our approach is based on a double asymptotic reduction which is valid in the limit of slow dynamics and low noise-intensity. The theoretical predictions agree well with the results of numerical simulations and the experiments.

Date Published: 27 April 2010
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 7720, Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics IV, 77200O (27 April 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.854371

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7720:
Semiconductor Lasers and Laser Dynamics IV
Krassimir Panajotov; Marc Sciamanna; Angel A. Valle; Rainer Michalzik, Editor(s)