SISYPHUS EFFECT IN SEMICONDUCTOR-LASERS WITH OPTICAL FEEDBACK

We identify the various physical mechanisms in low-frequency fluctuati ons, which occur when a semiconductor laser is subject to moderate opt ical feedback white operating close to its solitary laser threshold. I n attempting to reach the maximum gain mode, which often is stable, th e system forms short mode-locked pulses, In between pulses mode-slippi ng can occur, generally in the direction of maximum gain, Inevitably, the trajectory passes too close to one of the many saddle points, whic h will take the system back to the solitary laser state.