Chaos is good, if you are looking to send encrypted information across a broadband optical network. The idea that the transmission of light-based signals embedded in chaos can provide privacy in data transmission has been demonstrated over short distances in the laboratory. Now it has been shown to work for real, across a commercial fibre-optic channel in the metropolitan area network of Athens, Greece. The results show that the technology is robust to perturbations and channel disturbances unavoidable under real-world conditions. Chaotic signals have been proposed as broadband information carriers with the potential of providing a high level of robustness and privacy in data transmission1,2. Laboratory demonstrations of chaos-based optical communications have already shown the potential of this technology3,4,5, but a field experiment using commercial optical networks has not been undertaken so far. Here we demonstrate high-speed long-distance communication based on chaos synchronization over a commercial fibre-optic channel. An optical carrier wave generated by a chaotic laser is used to encode a message for transmission over 120 km of optical fibre in the metropolitan area network of Athens, Greece. The message is decoded using an appropriate second laser which, by synchronizing with the chaotic carrier, allows for the separation of the carrier and the message. Transmission rates in the gigabit per second range are achieved, with corresponding bit-error rates below 10-7. The system uses matched pairs of semiconductor lasers as chaotic emitters and receivers, and off-the-shelf fibre-optic telecommunication components. Our results show that information can be transmitted at high bit rates using deterministic chaos in a manner that is robust to perturbations and channel disturbances unavoidable under real-world conditions.

/pdf/chaos-based-communications-at-high-bit-rates-using-2z2lxtwks1.pdf

Chaos-based communications at high bit rates using commercial fibre-optic links

Advanced Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers

Many information processing challenges are difficult to solve with traditional Turing or von Neumann approaches. Implementing unconventional computational methods is therefore essential and optics provides promising opportunities. Here we experimentally demonstrate optical information processing using a nonlinear optoelectronic oscillator subject to delayed feedback. We implement a neuro-inspired concept, called Reservoir Computing, proven to possess universal computational capabilities. We particularly exploit the transient response of a complex dynamical system to an input data stream. We employ spoken digit recognition and time series prediction tasks as benchmarks, achieving competitive processing figures of merit.

/pdf/photonic-information-processing-beyond-turing-an-1ybv3xozpq.pdf

Photonic information processing beyond Turing: an optoelectronic implementation of reservoir computing.

Organic dyes have been used as gain medium for lasers since the 1960s, long before the advent of today’s organic electronic devices. Organic gain materials are highly attractive for lasing due to their chemical tunability and large stimulated emission cross section. While the traditional dye laser has been largely replaced by solid-state lasers, a number of new and miniaturized organic lasers have emerged that hold great potential for lab-on-chip applications, biointegration, low-cost sensing and related areas, which benefit from the unique properties of organic gain materials. On the fundamental level, these include high exciton binding energy, low refractive index (compared to inorganic semiconductors), and ease of spectral and chemical tuning. On a technological level, mechanical flexibility and compatibility with simple processing techniques such as printing, roll-to-roll, self-assembly, and soft-lithography are most relevant. Here, the authors provide a comprehensive review of the developments in the...

/pdf/organic-lasers-recent-developments-on-materials-device-3jgt2bn0mn.pdf

Organic Lasers: Recent Developments on Materials, Device Geometries, and Fabrication Techniques

This Review Article provides an overview of chaos in laser diodes by surveying experimental achievements in the area and explaining the theory behind the phenomenon. The fundamental physics underpinning laser diode chaos and also the opportunities for harnessing it for potential applications are discussed. The availability and ease of operation of laser diodes, in a wide range of configurations, make them a convenient testbed for exploring basic aspects of nonlinear and chaotic dynamics. It also makes them attractive for practical tasks, such as chaos-based secure communications and random number generation. Avenues for future research and development of chaotic laser diodes are also identified.

Physics and applications of laser diode chaos

Synchronization of chaos is achieved experimentally in unidirectionally coupled external-cavity vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers operating in an open-loop regime. Synchronization is observed when the polarization of the transmitter is perpendicular to the polarization (x polarization) of the free-running receiver. The ratio of transmitter output to y-polarized receiver output power shows normal (positive-slope) synchronization. However, inverse (negative-slope) synchronization is found to arise between the transmitter output and the x-polarized receiver output power.

Synchronization of chaos in unidirectionally coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers

Chaotic message encoding and decoding in unidirectionally coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with polarization-preserved and polarization-selected optical injection has been studied experimentally. A GHz message has been successfully encoded in the chaotic transmitter and decoded from the receiver with polarization-preserved optical injection. In contrast decoding using polarization-selected optical injection was achieved at only 330 MHz. It has also been demonstrated that GHz message extraction can be achieved using both normal and inverse chaos synchronization thus providing an opportunity for exploiting polarization properties of VCSELs for duplexed chaotic message transmission.

GHz Bandwidth Message Transmission Using Chaotic Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

A chaotic semiconductor laser subject to double optical feedback is characterised in terms of the statistical analysis, power spectrum analysis and forecast error analysis of the chaotic dynamics. Varying the relative lengths of the two external cavities, the dynamics are observed and compared to that of a single cavity. We show that in the case of integer multiple external-cavity lengths the round-trip time delays can be deduced from the forecast error analysis. In the case of fractional multiple cavity lengths, only the mean value of the cavity resonance frequencies can be deduced from the power spectra and hence the cavity time delays cannot be found. Cavity time delays that differ more than 0.4 ns can be obtained from the forecast error analysis. In the case of similar cavity lengths, the cavity time delays cannot be extracted. The results show that double optical feedback may offer particular advantages for enhancing security in chaos encryption.

Dynamical characterisation of laser diode subject to double optical feedback for chaotic optical communications

/pdf/ikeda-hopf-bifurcation-revisited-fpxp67n29y.pdf

Ikeda Hopf bifurcation revisited

We present a 5-km-long Raman fiber laser that delivers pulses at high harmonics of the fundamental cavity repetition rate, up to 1 GHz. The observed nanosecond pulses that propagate in an anomalous dispersion regime possess a complex noise-like structure with a coherence time of around 1 picosecond.

Min Won Lee

Papers

Synchronization of chaos in unidirectionally coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers

GHz Bandwidth Message Transmission Using Chaotic Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

Dynamical characterisation of laser diode subject to double optical feedback for chaotic optical communications

Ikeda Hopf bifurcation revisited

Noise-like pulses generated at high harmonics in a partially-mode-locked km-long Raman fiber laser