Passive optical bistability in etalons with diffusive nonlinearities with applications to optical computing

신동섭, 김덕봉, 윤태훈 +2 more

공홍진, 황월연, 이상수

Hyatt M. Gibbs

Alan Miller, Ian T. Muirhead, Keith L. Lewis +2 more

Warren S. Warren, Koch, Gibbs

This article describes the application of one type of optical bistable device based on gallium arsenide as the nonlinear medium. The authors discuss several possible operations with GaAs nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalons. This article utilizes a recently developed computer model to illustrate the basic operating principles and applications. The authors mainly concentrate on the device operation itself. In keeping with common practice they use the term optical bistable device when referring to a device that can exhibit optical bistability even when not being used in such a manner. Instead of the expression nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon, they often use nonlinear etalons or etalon devices.

Ulf Olin

A new model for optical bistability in layered semiconductor Fabry–Perot étalons is presented. The model accounts for diffraction, carrier diffusion, and thermal conduction. Assuming that the spot size and the thickness of the nonlinear layer are smaller than the diffusion length of the carriers, a simplified model is derived that has been used to design bistable AlGaAs étalons with improved thermal properties.