Mode structure of delay-coupled semiconductor lasers: influence of the pump current

We consider two identical, mutually delay-coupled semiconductor lasers and show that their compound laser modes (CLMs) - the basic continuous wave solutions - depend rather sensitively on the pump current of the lasers. Specifically, we show with figures and accompanying animations how the underlying CLM structure and the associated locking region, where both lasers operate stably with the same frequency, change as a function of the pump current. Our results provide a natural transition between rather different CLM structures that have been reported in the literature. Moreover, we demonstrate how the locking region as well as the different types of instabilities at its boundary depend on the pump current. This is of fundamental interest for the dynamics of coupled lasers and their possible application. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.