The second threshold of a superradiant laser

For Russian citation (Opticheskii Zhurnal):

Кочаровская Е.Р., Кочаровский В.В. Второй порог генерации сверхизлучающих лазеров // Оптический журнал. 2026. № 8. P. 17–30. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2026-93-08-17-30

Kocharovskaya E.R., Kocharovsky V.V. The second threshold of a superradiant laser [in Russian] // Opticheskii Zhurnal. 2026. V. 93. № 8. P. 17–30. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2026-93-08-17-30

For citation (Journal of Optical Technology):

Abstract:

Subject of study. Characteristics of the transition from single-mode stationary to non-stationary superradiant lasing caused by change of the cavity and pump parameters. Aim of study. To study the role of the half-wavelength population-inversion grating of the active medium, as the basis for the nonlinear structure of the polariton mode of a superradiant laser, in the loss of stability of single-mode lasing and the formation of the resulting non-stationary generation regime. Method. Numerical modeling and qualitative analysis of the dynamics of nonlinear Maxwell–Bloch equations in the approximation of a homogeneous two-level active medium with continuous-wave pumping in a combined Fabry–Perot cavity with distributed feedback of counterpropagating waves. Main results. A number of typical examples have been used to establish the significant influence of a self-consistent half-wavelength population-inversion grating of the active medium on the threshold and the nature of the transition to non-stationary superradiant lasing when varying the pump level, distributed feedback coefficient, mirror reflection factor, and length of a laser cavity. It has been shown that when this so-called second threshold is exceeded, superradiant lasing becomes quasi-periodic, with either weak (self-modulation) or strong (pulsed superradiance) variations in the intensity of its emission and the population inversion of the active medium, including population-inversion grating. Practical significance. The results obtained in this study indicate new possibilities of dimensional change of the single-mode lasing region and control of the non-stationary lasing regime by varying the pump level and the parameters of the combined cavity of a superradiant laser.

Keywords:

superradiant laser, nonlinear polariton mode, half-wave population-inversion grating, distributed feedback, low-Q combined Fabry–Perot cavity, mode spectrum, non-stationary lasing threshold, single-mode lasing, self-modulation, collective spontaneous emission

Acknowledgements:

the work was carried out with financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation within the framework of the state assignment of the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences No. FFUF-2024-0038

OCIS codes: 140.3430, 140.6630, 030.1670

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