Localized states, Q-switching and excitability in coupled semiconductor microcavities

Excitability is a very generic feature of several kinds of nonlinear dynamical systems (including biological and optical ones) defined by the threshold-like response of the system to external perturbations. In particular, the excitable character of a laser with saturable absorber has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally in absence of any spatial degree of freedom. On the other hand, a semiconductor laser with saturable absorber with sufficiently high transverse extension is known to support the formation of localized structures.