Nonlinear Dynamics Testbed (NDT) For Demonstrating Stabilization of Diode Laser Arrays

Dynetics, with SAIC as a subcontractor, proposes to investigate chaos control techniques for stabilizing diode laser arrays by using nonlinear electronic circuits to model the array elements. This approach offers the capability to temporally scale the laser dynamics and to implement control algorithms based on computationally intensive approaches, such as neural networks. To facilitate these investigations, a Nonlinear Dynamics Testbed (NDT) will be developed that include real-time displays, a function generator for driving the laser model, an analog control module, PC-based data acquisition, and a digital signal processor (DSP) for implementing and testing sophisticated control algorithms. The NDT will offer capabilities to generate chaotic oscillations for the laser simulation circuits in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 100 kHz; display real-time information about the array including time series, frequency spectra, phase-space trajectories, and Poincare maps; use analog feedback to bring chaotic systems into periodic orbits; digitize and record multiple system states and control signals simultaneously; and monitor multiple states in the laser simulation circuits and synchronously output control signals generated with the user's algorithms implemented on a DSP. The resulting testbed, which will be completed and delivered during Phase I, will be a useful tool to support state-of-the-art research in laser dynamics and chaos control.