Abstract

The trapping and dynamic nonequilibrium spatiospectral mixing of two nonresonant picosecond pulses injected into the active area of a broad-area semiconductor laser are investigated on the basis of spatiotemporal numerical simulations. The spatiotemporal dynamics of the nonequilibrium Wigner distributions of the charge carriers and the interband polarization reveal the spatiospectral wave mixing and spatiospectral nature of self-focusing, propagation-induced hole burning, dynamic nonlinear waveguiding, and interference effects. This interplay of effects is identified as the origin of the pulse merging and of the subsequent formation of a trapped pulse that is reminiscent of a spatial optical soliton.

© 1998 Optical Society of America

Ultrafast active phase conjugation in broad-area semiconductor laser amplifiers

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