Abstract

Transition from a limit cycle to chaos via type-III intermittency /1/ has been studied in a simple model of a laser with intracavity saturable absorber /2-4/. The limit cycle branches from a finite amplitude cw steady state. Within the chaotic region we have also found several time periodic windows. There is also another transition to chaos via intermittency from a softly excited limit cycle bifurcating from the no lasing state. Poincaré and return maps together with power spectra have been used to characterize the properties of the periodic and chaotic states.

© 1985 Optical Society of America