Spontaneous locking of optical vortices in coupled semiconductor lasers

Non-conventional emission of light, comprising engaged rotating light cogs, is measured and analyzed. The source of this unique emission is an array of coupled surface emitting lasers, each emitting an optical vortex. The complex rotating light structures are formed spontaneously by specific combinations of the individual vortices, each carrying two types of "charge": orbital angular momentum (±1 topological charge) and a relative engagement phase (0 or π). These charges determine the specific form in which the individual rotating fields are engaged to generate the emanated light gear. The experimentally observed formations and dynamic evolution of the light gears stem from the complex nonlinear dynamics of the coupled rotating-field emitters, a mechanism which we have successfully modeled and utilized for interpreting the obtained results. The engaged light gears can be used in controlled generation and transmission of multiple degrees of freedom photons, for high-bit-rate classic and quantum telecommunications, particle manipulation, and super-resolution imaging.