Instabilities and chaos in optically injected semiconductor lasers

We have experimentally obtained and theoretically analyzed a systematic map of the various instabilities induced in a semiconductor laser subject to strong optical injection as the amount of optical injection power and frequency detuning is varied. Two distinct islands of chaos have been identified in the injection‐locked region. They are separated by regions of period one and period two solutions. Spontaneous emission noise obscures the observation of high periodic orbits.