Observation of chaos in a frequency-modulated CO2 laser

The output power of a laser containing an elasto-optic modulator exhibits period-doubling bifurcations culminating in chaos and periodic windows. The bifurcation diagram of the frequency-modulated laser appears quite similar to that of the usual quadratic mapping. In addition, it demonstrates generalized bistability and depends on the rate of change of the control parameter. The experimental results show excellent agreement with those provided by a simple model of the laser. (Author)