Applied Physics Letters · 1985 · 45 citations · 4 references
EngineeringElectrical EngineeringPhysicsOptoelectronicsPhotonicsStochastic ProcessesLaser DiodesLaser OpticsLaser PhysicsOptical Properties Of SemiconductorsSemiconductor LasersSemiconductor PhysicsAnalog Quantum SimulationIntensity FluctuationsPoisson Process ModelsPoisson Process SimulationPower Spectral DensitySingle-mode Semiconductor LasersSpectral Power DistributionSpontaneous Emission
We precisely measured temporal intensity variations of each longitudinal mode of a two-mode 1.5-μm InGaAsP laser. The intensities of these modes showed clear hopping between each other. It became clear for the first time that their power spectral densities represented typical Lorentzian with a cut-off frequency between 0.7 and 1.9 MHz. This means that mode hopping follows the stochastics of a Poisson process, i.e., it occurs completely at random in time. The results of analog computer simulation, using a detailed theoretical model, supported the experimental results. It is concluded that spontaneous emission acts as a trigger to this hopping.
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