Abstract

Recent studies of the dynamics of semiconductor lasers with orthogonal optical feedback have shown the potential for novel applications, such as fast optical pulse generation [1], frequency bistability [2], and passive mode locking without a saturable absorber [3], The orthogonal feedback scheme differs from the quarter-wave-plate feedback scheme because in the case of orthogonal feed- back only one polarization (e.g., the X-polarization) is selected to be fed back into the laser while the other polarization is completely suppressed before the output is rotated 90 degrees and re-injected into the laser.

© 2007 IEEE