Using Disorder to Overcome Disorder: A Mechanism for Frequency and Phase Synchronization of Diode Laser Arrays

N. Nair, K. Hu, M. Berrill, K. Wiesenfeld, Y. Braiman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Noise and disorder are known, in certain circumstances and for certain systems, to improve the level of coherence over that of the noise-free system. Examples include cases in which disorder enhances response to periodic signals, and those where it suppresses chaotic behavior. We report a new type of disorder-enhancing mechanism, observed in a model that describes the dynamics of external cavity-coupled semiconductor laser arrays, where disorder of one type mitigates (and overcomes) the desynchronization effects due to a different disorder source. Here, we demonstrate stabilization of dynamical states due to frequency locking and subsequently frequency locking-induced phase locking. We have reduced the equations to a potential model that illustrates the mechanism behind the misalignment-induced frequency and phase synchronization.

Original languageEnglish
Article number173901
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume127
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 22 2021

Funding

Y. B. would like to acknowledge support from the Office of Naval Research.

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