Self-pulsations in a microcavity Brillouin laser

Yingchun Qin, Nanjing University
Shulin Ding, Nanjing University
Shujian Lei, Nanjing University
Jianming Wen, Kennesaw State University

Abstract

We demonstrate a new, to the best of our knowledge, kind of self-pulsation in a microcavity Brillouin laser. This specific self-pulsation is generated by the interplay between the Brillouin lasing and the thermo-optic effect in an optical microcavity. Intriguingly, the self-pulsation behaviors are simultaneously present in both forward input pump and backward Brillouin lasing emission. By developing a coupled-mode theory, our numerical simulations display an excellent agreement with the experimental results.