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Micom program in optical bistability

Charles M. Bowden, D. W. Howgate

Published Jun 1, 1980• 0 citations

Abstract

Some years ago, a number of people independently suggested the use of the saturable absorber to induce optical bistability (hereafter referred to as OB). The phenomenon was demonstrated and studied recently by Gibbs, McCall and Venkatesan who used a cw dye laser to excite atoms of sodium vapor in a cell between the plates of a Fabry Perot interferometer. Under certain experimental and material conditions, they observed a nonlinear dependency of the transmitted field as a function of the dye-laser input which exhibited hysteresis, differential gain, and bistable behavior. Interest in OB from the practical applications standpoint stems from obvious device applications as the optical analog of the transistor, optical clipper or limiter and digital optical memory element. The recent demonstration of the phenomenon has generated considerable interest from the fundamental point of view as a clear example of spontaneous ordering in an open, stationary system of matter interacting with light. This has led to a surge of recent theoretical activity. (Author)

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Optical Bistability

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When the output parameter of an optical device could be a multivalued function of the input parameter, this device can be working in an optical bistable status. The most typical optical bistable device is a Fabry–Perot cavity containing a nonlinear optical medium, the refractive index of which depends on the light intensity. Upon the action of an intense input optical beam, the transmitted (or reflected) intensity of this device may exhibit a nonlinear response to the incident light intensity variation and, especially under appropriate working conditions, the characteristic output/input curve may manifest a single (or multiple) hysteresis loop(s). Such type of optical bistable device can be used as an optical differential amplifier, optical switch, optical limiter, optical clipper, optical discriminator, or an optical memory element, depending on the chosen nonlinear medium and operation conditions.

Oxford University Press eBooks•Oct 30, 2014•1 citation

Some years ago, a number of people independently suggested the use of the saturable absorber to induce optical bistability (hereafter referred to as OB). The phenomenon was demonstrated and studied recently by Gibbs, McCall and Venkatesan who used a cw dye laser to excite atoms of sodium vapor in a cell between the plates of a Fabry Perot interferometer. Under certain experimental and material conditions, they observed a nonlinear dependency of the transmitted field as a function of the dye-laser input which exhibited hysteresis, differential gain, and bistable behavior. Interest in OB from the practical applications standpoint stems from obvious device applications as the optical analog of the transistor, optical clipper or limiter and digital optical memory element. The recent demonstration of the phenomenon has generated considerable interest from the fundamental point of view as a clear example of spontaneous ordering in an open, stationary system of matter interacting with light. This has led to a surge of recent theoretical activity. (Author)

Optical bistability (OB) can be defined as the existence of two stable states for one set of optical input conditions. It can be seen in many different systems which generally combine some microscopic nonlinearity (e.g., intensity-dependent refractive index) with some macroscopic feedback (e.g., a Fabry-Perot cavity). OB shows not only hysteresis but also switching transitions. By adjusting the degree of feedback various related effects are also possible (e.g., optical limiters, optical transistors, and several kinds of oscillation phenomena).

Two years ago, the first proposal and demonstration of self-focusing optical bistability was published.1 In this paper it was shown that a self-focused beam in a nonlinear medium would exhibit hysteresis if the beam were reflected back on itself. The effect was demonstrated using a dye laser beam and Na vapor as the nonlinear medium. The optical hysteresis observed is in good qualitative agreement with a recently - published analysis of this system.2 By taking account of the saturation of the nonlinearity, more complex behavior has been predicted.2 This behavior is due to oscillations of the spot size as the self-focused beam propagates through the nonlinear medium. In this paper we report on our experimental studies of optical multistability due to these spot size oscillations.

The optical bistability (OB) behavior of single-mode Fabry- Perot lasers containing saturable absorber (LSA) is presented on the basis of the rate equations with allowance for spontaneous emission and spatial hole-burning. Special attention is paid to the case of dominant inhomogeneous broadening in both Lorentzian and Gaussian models. The OB occurrence conditions are clearly displayed in phase diagrams. The influence of the main LSA parameters on OB characteristics as well as on OB curves' stability are investigated in detail. Some practical suggestions for optimizing the bistable operation in LSA are also given.

One of the most interesting and applicable effects of nonlinear optics is optical bistability. This phenomenon is exhibited by certain resonant optical structures where it is possible to have two stable steady transmission states for the device, depending on the history of the input. Such a bistable device may be useful for optical computing elements as a result of its memory characteristics. Optical bistability behaviour is usually observed by inserting a nonlinear matter inside a Fabry–Perot interferometer. But in this study, it was shown that this can be achieved without the application of any optical resonator. Two laser beams were used to interact with the photorefractive media (doped PMMA polymer) which resulted in the bistability of the intensity of transmitted wave. Feedback was provided by a periodic grating created in the photorefractive polymer PMMA.

When the output parameter of an optical device could be a multivalued function of the input parameter, this device can be working in an optical bistable status. The most typical optical bistable device is a Fabry–Perot cavity containing a nonlinear optical medium, the refractive index of which depends on the light intensity. Upon the action of an intense input optical beam, the transmitted (or reflected) intensity of this device may exhibit a nonlinear response to the incident light intensity variation and, especially under appropriate working conditions, the characteristic output/input curve may manifest a single (or multiple) hysteresis loop(s). Such type of optical bistable device can be used as an optical differential amplifier, optical switch, optical limiter, optical clipper, optical discriminator, or an optical memory element, depending on the chosen nonlinear medium and operation conditions.