Optical bistability in a broad-area semiconductor laser system

This paper considers a broad-area surface-emitting laser with a vertical resonator (VCSEL) controlled by external optical radiation, which provides the presence of optical bistability in the system. The stability of the spatially homogeneous near-axis mode of laser generation is investigated. Interaction of a large number of transverse modes leads to modulation instability, as a result of which spatial patterns, solitons and irregular dynamics can be formed. Conditions for the existence of bistable modes on the background of modulation instability are investigated. A curve of a homogeneous stationary solution is constructed and the correlation between its bistability and the presence of instabilities is shown. The system of differential equations was solved numerically to confirm the effect of switching between the stationary values in the bistable region. It is obtained that the growth of the Henry factor value increases the areas of modulation instability and plane wave instability, which can also be realized in this system.