We observe a two-state on-off intermittency in a diode laser with an external cavity experimentally. The control parameter is the length of the external cavity that is periodically modulated. We demonstrate that the system exhibits an intermittent behavior between a two-mode chaotic regime and a single-mode state when the control parameter passes through the bifurcation point. Power-law scaling of the average laminar time with a critical exponent of $-1$ is found as a function of both the amplitude and frequency of the external modulation.

• Received 8 February 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.66.027203