Optical Engineering 50(1), 017005 (January 2011)

Lyapunov exponent of chaos generated by acousto-optic modulators with feedback

Anjan K. Ghosh Pramode Verma University of Oklahoma Tulsa School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Telecommunication Engineering Program Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135 E-mail: anjn@ieee.org Abstract. Generation of chaos from acousto-optic modulators with an electronic feedback has been studied for several years. Such chaotic signals have an important application in providing secure encryption in free-space optical communication systems. Lyapunov exponent is an important parameter for analysis of chaos generated by a nonlinear system. The Lyapunov exponent of an acousto-optic system is determined and calculated in this paper to understand the dependence of the chaotic response on the system parameters such as bias, feedback gain, input intensity and initial condition exciting the cell. Analysis of chaos using Lyapunov exponent is consistent with bifurcation analysis and is useful in encrypting data signals. C 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
(SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.3530105]

Subject terms: chaos; acousto-optics; optical communication; secure optical communication. Paper 100426R received May 21, 2010; revised manuscript received Nov. 8, 2010; accepted for publication Nov. 29, 2010; published online Jan. 20, 2011.

1 Introduction Generation of chaos from acousto-optic (AO) modulators with an electronic feedback has been studied for several years.18 It was an interesting eld of research for studying the behavior of nonlinear dynamical systems using AO cells. Recently, we have shown that such chaotic signals have an important application in providing secure encryption in free-space optical communication systems.9, 10 In general, chaos encryption of data is known to provide higher levels of security than what is available by standard cryptographic techniques. To realize a secure optical communication link using AO generated chaos we need to know how to obtain a chaotic response from an AO system and the properties of the chaotic signal in detail. We found that an understanding of the Lyapunov exponent (LE)1113 of the nonlinear AO system with feedback is essential in building a chaos-encrypted optical communication system. In this paper, we calculate the LE of an AO Bragg modulator with feedback to characterize and understand the behavior of the chaos generated. It is well known that if the LE of a nonlinear system is greater than unity the system generates chaotic signals; otherwise the time series obtained from the nonlinear system may be a stable periodic sequence.11, 12 We show how to determine the LE of the acousto-optic system analytically in terms of the AO system parameters. 2 Theory A typical AO modulator set-up with feedback is shown schematically in Fig. 1. We assume that a coherent plane wave from a laser is incident on the AO cell in Fig. 1 and undergoes a Bragg interaction. The intensity of the + 1 order diffracted beam is detected by a photodetector. The detected signal is fed back to the electronic processor driving the AO cell. A bias voltage of value is added to the amplied signal from the photodetector and the total signal is fed to the AO cell driver. Assuming that the sound pressure remains con0091-3286/2011/$25.00 Optical Engineering
C

stant during the interaction and the interaction time is much less than the feedback delay time, the intensity Y(n) of the rst-order diffracted beam at the time t = n can be described as a nonlinear one-dimensional iterative process Y (n) = Iin sin2 [ + Y (n 1)], (1) where is the net feedback gain, Iin is the intensity of the input light beam, is the time delay in the feedback loop, and n = 1, 2, 3, . . . (Ref. 6 and 7). We assume that the parameters and are real numbers. Since the parameter Iin > 0 it is easy to see from Eq. (1) that 0 Y (n) Iin , (2) for all values of n and the initial condition Y(0). We can also represent the difference equation or map in Eq. (1) as Y (n) = f [Y (n 1)]. (3) It is clear that the function f in Eq. (3) depends on three parameters , and Iin . If the initial condition is Y(0) then the trajectory or the orbit of the map in Eq. (3) is given by12 Y (n) = f (n) [Y (0)] = f [ f [. . . f [Y (0)] . . .]]. (4)

When the initial condition is perturbed to Y (0) = Y (0) + , the sequence generated by Eq. (3) is given by Y (n) = f (n) [Y (0) + ]. (5)

If the perturbation is small, as n increases the separation between the orbits of Y(n) and Y(n) evolves approximately as13 |Y (n) Y (n)| || exp (n), (6) where the parameter is the Lyapunov exponent of chaotic system.11, 12 From Eq. (6) we obtain f (n) [Y (0) + ] f (n) [Y (0)] 1 . ln n (7)

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Ghosh and Verma: Lyapunov exponent of chaos generated by acousto-optic modulators with feedback
0.3 = 2.1, = 1.25, Iin = Y(0) = 2.199 0.35

Lyapunov Exp.

0.4

0.45

0.5

0.55 0 10

10

10

10

10

10

Fig. 1 A schematic diagram of an acousto-optic system with feedback.

Fig. 2 Convergence of the Lyapunov exponent as more terms are used in calculating the sum in Eq. (11).

where As we are interested in the effects of very small perturbations, the limit of Eq. (7) is taken as 0. Then the term inside the logarithm in Eq. (7) is expanded using the chain rule of differentiation:
0

AO (n) = ln | Iin | + Sn , Sn = 1 n
n1

(12)

lim

f (n) [Y (0) + ] f (n) [Y (0)]

n1

d f (n) [y] = dy

ln |sin[2 + 2Y (k)]|.
k=0

(13)

y=Y (0)

=
k=0

d f [y] dy

,
y=Y (k)

(8)

The LE AO depends on four parameters Y(0), , and Iin of the AO system. To compute the LE we evaluate the term AO (n) for a large value of n until we obtain |AO (n + 1) AO (n)| 106 . In Fig. 2 we plot the convergence of AO (n) calculated for a system with = 2.1, = 1.25, Y(0) = 2.199 and Iin = 2.199. These values of the parameters were chosen arbitrarily and we notice that the calculated value of AO tends to 0.55. This system does not produce chaos. The convergence is attained for n > 2000. For other values of the system parameters the convergence is attained for n in the range of 1000 to 8000.
2.2 2.195 2.19 2.185 Intensity Y(n) 2.18 2.175 2.17 2.165 2.16 0 20 40 60 Time step n 80 100 = 2.1, = 1.25, Iin = Y(0) = 2.199

and substituting the expression in Eq. (8) in Eq. (7) we obtain 1 ln n

n1

k=0

d f [y] dy

=
y=Y (k)

1 n

n1

ln
k=0

d f [y] dy

.
y=Y (k)

(9) Finally, the limit of the expression in Eq. (9) is taken as n to obtain the LE of the nonlinear one-dimensional map in Eq. (3) as11, 12 = lim 1 n
n1

ln
k=0

d f [y] dy

.
y=Y (k)

(10)

From Eq. (6) and the subsequent derivation, we can conclude that if the LE > 0, the orbits of Y (n) and Y(n) will diverge away from one another and the sequence Y(n) will exhibit chaotic behavior, whereas if < 0 we expect that the orbits will converge to a steady oscillation.1113 Along with the initial condition Y(0) the LE in Eq. (10) is a function of all the parameters of the nonlinear system. 3 LE for AO System From Eqs. (1) and (10) we obtain the following expression for the LE of the AO system shown in Fig. 1. AO = lim AO (n).
n

(11)
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Fig. 3 Y(n) converges to a steady state when LE < 0. January 2011/Vol. 50(1)

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Ghosh and Verma: Lyapunov exponent of chaos generated by acousto-optic modulators with feedback
1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 Intensity Y(n) 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 20 40 60 Time step n 80 100
Intensity Y 0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Parameter 3 3.5 4

= 2.1, = 1.25, I = 2.199, Y(0) = 0.5

in

= 2, Iin = Y(0) = 0.55

Fig. 4 Y(n) undergoes a chaotic oscillation when LE > 0.

Fig. 6 Bifurcation of the orbit of Y(n) with the feedback gain parameter .

In Fig. 3 we depict the output sequence Y(n) versus n for the parameter values given above. It is clear from Fig. 3 that the AO systems output converges to a steadystate as indicated by its AO < 0. In Fig. 4 we show the output sequence Y(n) versus n for an AO system with = 1.0, = 1.3, Y(0) = 2.0 and Iin = 2.0 so that AO = 0.18. Chaos is evident in the oscillations of Y(n) in Fig. 4. Since 0 |sin[ ]| 1 we have ln |sin[ ]| 0 for all values of . Therefore, the term Sn in Eq. (12) or (13) is always less than zero, for all values of , and Y(0). If we want chaos in the output of the AO system, that is, if we want AO > 0, we must make the rst term in the right-hand side of the Eq. (11), namely, the term ln | Iin | greater than zero, or | Iin | greater than unity. This condition is clearly a necessary condition for chaos. It is not a sufcient condition as we see in the case depicted in Figs. 2 and 3 with = 1.25 and Iin = 2.199. In Figs. 2 and 3 we have ln | Iin | = 1.01 but with AO = 0.55 the chaos is not produced. We can thus state the following theorem.

Theorem 1: A necessary condition for chaos in the output of the AO system with feedback is that the effective feedback gain and the input light intensity Iin satisfy | Iin | > 1. (14)

To illustrate the behavior of the LE with respect to the parameters of the AO system we performed numerical experiments in which one of the parameters is varied over a range (0,4) while other three parameters were kept constant. In Fig. 5 we depict the variation of AO as a function of the feedback gain for = 2, Iin = 0.55 and Y(0) = 0.55. In Fig. 5 we notice that for smaller values of the LE increases logarithmically till ln | Iin | is approximately equal to unity. For larger values of the value of the LE depends on the summation term Sn in Eq. (13). There are disjointed ranges of for which LE > 0 and we observe chaos in the output of the nonlinear AO system. If the values of any of the other three parameters change the ranges of for chaos production would also change. The
1

0.5 0 0.5
Lyapunov Exponent

= 2, I = Y(0) = 0.55
in

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Lyapunov Exponent

2 = 2, I = 2, Y(0) = 2
in

5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Parameter 3 3.5 4

0.5

1.5

2 2.5 Parameter

3.5

Fig. 5 Variation of the Lyapunov exponent with the feedback gain . Optical Engineering

Fig. 7 Dependence of the Lyapunov exponent on the feedback bias factor . January 2011/Vol. 50(1)

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Ghosh and Verma: Lyapunov exponent of chaos generated by acousto-optic modulators with feedback

Fig. 8 Deterministic output when the bias parameter varies such that LE < 0 for both 1 and 0 levels.

Fig. 9 Chaotic output when the bias parameter varies such that LE > 0 for both 1 and 0 levels.

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ideas obtained from Fig. 5 can also be determined from traditional bifurcation diagrams in Fig. 6 for = 2, Iin = 0.55 and Y(0) = 0.55. From Fig. 5 we nd that the LE > 0 for approximately greater than 3.5. In the bifurcation diagram of Fig. 6 we also notice that chaos start for approximately greater than 3.5. Thus, the method of calculating LE for characterization of chaos in a nonlinear system is entirely consistent with other methods of analyzing chaos.14 However, unlike Fig. 5, it is not easy to calculate the exact range of values of the feedback gain from Fig. 6 so that chaotic oscillations are produced by the AO system. In Fig. 7 we show how the LE depends on the feedback bias factor when the other parameters were chosen arbitrarily as = Iin = Y(0) = 2. Since the term ln | Iin | = 1.38 the AO system can become chaotic if S < 1.38. In Ref. 6 and 9 it was proposed that a signal can be encoded with chaos by feeding the signal as a time varying bias (n) to the AO cell. From Fig. 7 we notice that care must be taken in selecting the amplitude levels of the signal or (n) so that chaotic oscillations are generated by the AO system. For example, if we feed binary data with a 1 level corresponding to = 2.7 and a 0 level to = 0.7, from Fig. 7 we notice that for both levels LE < 0 and hence, chaos is not be present in the output. This case is depicted in Fig. 8. We notice that the output Y(n) is basically an inverted version of the input (n). In Fig. 9 we show the chaos generated when a binary waveform (0 level is 0.5 and the 1 level is 2.5) is supplied to the AO cell as a time-varying (n) so that both 1 and 0 levels of (n) produce LE > 0. Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 of LE versus the system parameters are thus useful tools for designing a chaos based communication system. We need to develop and consult such plots to make sure that our nonlinear optical system with feedback produces chaotic waveforms to encrypt or decrypt the data signals. 4 Conclusion In this paper we discussed the concept of the Lypunov exponent of a nonlinear system for determining whether the system output would show chaos or not. We determined and calculated the LE of a nonlinear AO system with feedback and characterized its chaotic behavior with respect to the system parameters such as bias, feedback gain, input intensity and initial condition. We derived a necessary condition for the AO system to show feedback. Our results are useful in designing AO systems for modulating or demodulating messages with chaos.

References
1. J. Chrostowski, Noisy bifurcations in acoustooptic bistability, Phys. Rev. A 26, 30233025 (1982). 2. R. Vallee and C. Delisle, Mode Description of the Dynamical Evolution of an acousto-optic bistable device, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics QE-21, 14231428 (1985). 3. R. Vallee and C. Delisle, Route to chaos in an acousto-optic bistable device, Phys. Rev. A 31, 23902396 (1985). 4. J. P. Goedgebauer, et al., Demonstration of bistability and multistability in wavelength with a hybrid acoustooptic device, IEEE J. Quant. Electron. QE-23, 153157 (1987). 5. T. -C. Poon and S. K. Cheung, Performance of a hybrid bistable device using an acoustooptic modulator, Appl. Opt. 28, 4787 (1989). 6. P. P. Banerjee, et al., Response of an acousto-optic device with feedback to time-varying inputs, Appl. Opt. 31, 18421852 (1992). 7. M. R. Chatterjee and J. -J. Huang, Demonstration of acousto-optic bistability and chaos by direct nonlinear circuit modeling, Appl. Opt. 31, 2506 (1992). 8. S.-T. Chen and M. R. Chatterjee, Dual-input hybrid acousto-optic set reset ip-op and its nonlinear dynamics, Appl. Opt. 36, 31473154 (1997). 9. M. Chatterjee and M. Al-Saedi, Examination of Chaotic Signal Encryption, Synchronization and Retrieval Using Hybrid Acousto-Optic Feedback, in OSA FiO/LS/META/OF&T, 6624 (2008). 10. A. K. Ghosh, et al., Design of acousto-optic chaos based secure free-space optical communication links, in Proceedings of SPIE, pp. 74640L74640L-6 (2009). 11. T. Bountis, Fundamental concepts of the theory of chaos and fractals, in Chaos Applications in Telecommunications, P. Stavroulakis, Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL (2006). 12. W. Kinsner, Characterizing chaos through Lyapunov metrics, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Part C (Applications and Reviews), 36, 141151 (2006). 13. I. Procaccia, The Static and Dynamic Invariants that Characterize Chaos and the Relations Between Them in Theory and Experiments, Phys. Scr. T9, 4046 (1985). 14. D. M. Heffernan, et al., Characterization of chaos, International Journal of Theoretical Phys. 31, 13451362 (1992). Anjan K. Ghosh has more than twenty years of research and teaching experience in the areas of optical information processing, optical communications and photonic sensors and instrumentation. He obtained his doctorate in Electrical Engineering from CarnegieMellon University, Pittsburgh. Dr. Ghosh was a member of technical staff in AT&T Bell Laboratories for two years. He served as a faculty member in the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IIT Kanpur, India and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was the Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Adv. Center for Electronic Sciences, Laser Technology Program and the Center for Laser Technology, all at IIT Kanpur. He published over 150 papers in journals and conference proceedings. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Fellow of the Institute of Electronics and Telecomm. Eng. (India) and members of SPIE, Optical Society of America, Optical Soc. of India, Eta Kappa Nu and Sigma Xi. Pramode Verma is Director Telecommunications Engineering Program and holds the Williams Chair in Telecommunications Networking at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Prior to joining the University of Oklahoma, he was with AT&T Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies for over 20 years. His research areas encompass all areas in telecommunications networking including network security. He obtained his PhD from Concordia University.

Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Mr. S. Gangadhar for his help with calculations and to Professor M. R. Chatterjee and Professor P. P. Banerjee of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the University of Dayton for fruitful discussions.

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