Optical characteristics of a system consisting of a photonic crystal with a defect layer of a dense resonant medium described by the modified Bloch equation are considered. Transmission spectra are calculated and regions of existence of bistable optical response of the system are found. It is shown that the effect of internal reflection demonstrated by the dense resonant medium results in variation of reflection and transmission spectra of the photonic crystal and the loop width of the bistable response of the dense resonant medium is determined by the structure of the photonic crystal.Optical characteristics of a system consisting of a photonic crystal with a defect layer of a dense resonant medium described by the modified Bloch equation are considered. Transmission spectra are calculated and regions of existence of bistable optical response of the system are found. It is shown that the effect of internal reflection demonstrated by the dense resonant medium results in variation of reflection and transmission spectra of the photonic crystal and the loop width of the bistable response of the dense resonant medium is determined by the structure of the photonic crystal.

Optics and SpectroscopyJun 1, 20081 citation

Ultrafast response of photonic crystal atoms with Kerr nonlinearity to ultrashort optical pulses

Sheng Lan, Venu Gopal Achanta, Kyozo Kanamoto +1 more

We investigate the response of photonic crystal (PC) atoms with Kerr nonlinearity to the excitation of ultrashort optical pulses. Surprisingly, it is found that PC atoms with sharp resonant peaks in frequency spectrum (or with large quality factors) can respond to ultrashort pulses very rapidly when Kerr nonlinearity is introduced. More interestingly, the response time under high-power densities can be even shorter than the duration of the pump pulse. It is revealed that the nonlinearity induced broadening of dynamical frequency spectrum is responsible for the ultrafast response time, implying the possibility of ultrafast all-optical switching.We investigate the response of photonic crystal (PC) atoms with Kerr nonlinearity to the excitation of ultrashort optical pulses. Surprisingly, it is found that PC atoms with sharp resonant peaks in frequency spectrum (or with large quality factors) can respond to ultrashort pulses very rapidly when Kerr nonlinearity is introduced. More interestingly, the response time under high-power densities can be even shorter than the duration of the pump pulse. It is revealed that the nonlinearity induced broadening of dynamical frequency spectrum is responsible for the ultrafast response time, implying the possibility of ultrafast all-optical switching.

Applied Physics LettersJun 18, 200424 citations

Quantum Optics in Photonic Crystals

Springer eBooksNov 13, 20050 citations

Quantum Optics in Photonic Crystals

Kazuaki Sakoda

Springer series in optical sciences/SPringer series in optical sciencesJan 1, 20010 citations

Optical Bistable Response in AlGaAs-Based Photonic Crystal Microcavities and Related Nonlinearities

Hitoshi Kawashima, Yu Tanaka, Naoki Ikeda +3 more

Optical bistable responses in AlGaAs-based photonic crystal cavities with Al fractions of 0.16 and 0.27 under a stationary condition are studied. An analysis of the experimental results with a one-dimensional etalon model indicates that the bistable response is primarily driven by optical nonlinearities that stem from a heat generation in two-photon absorption and in free-carrier absorption. A free-carrier plasma effect is not influential, which is a major difference from the case of Si photonic crystal cavities. The accumulation of heat enables the phase or index to significantly change. An estimate indicates that a high $Q$ -factor is advantageous for driving bistability exclusively by the Kerr effect.Optical bistable responses in AlGaAs-based photonic crystal cavities with Al fractions of 0.16 and 0.27 under a stationary condition are studied. An analysis of the experimental results with a one-dimensional etalon model indicates that the bistable response is primarily driven by optical nonlinearities that stem from a heat generation in two-photon absorption and in free-carrier absorption. A free-carrier plasma effect is not influential, which is a major difference from the case of Si photonic crystal cavities. The accumulation of heat enables the phase or index to significantly change. An estimate indicates that a high$Q$-factor is advantageous for driving bistability exclusively by the Kerr effect.

IEEE Journal of Quantum ElectronicsJul 24, 200816 citations

Q

-factor is advantageous for driving bistability exclusively by the Kerr effect.