Dynamics and Synchronization of delay-coupled semiconductor lasers

Delay-coupled semiconductor lasers have been proven valuable for the
study of delay-dynamics, chaos synchronization and novel applications
based thereon. Different coupling topologies and parameter conditions
are easy to attain experimentally. We investigate the synchronization
characteristics of systems of two coupled semiconductor lasers in
different configurations.
Based on a modeling framework to describe such systems, we present the
stability properties of the identically synchronized solution, which
then are characterized experimentally. We are able to connect the
overall synchronization quality with the occurrence of intermittent
desynchronization events attributed to the so-called bubbling
phenomenon, a phenomenon going beyond the linear stability analysis. We
show the dependence of the bubbling on coupling topology, especially
symmetries and mismatches in the system, as well as on important control
parameters. Our investigations are crucial for practical implementations
of laser networks and their utilization, e.g. for key exchange applications.