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Physical Review A

Nonlinear optical transmission in multiple quantum wells with ridged waveguides: Experiment and theory

V. Pellegrini, F. Fuso, E. Arimondo, F. Castelli, L. A. Lugiato, Gian Paolo Bava, Pierluigi Debernardi

Published Dec 1, 1994• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on the observations of a nonlinear optical response in the radiation pulses transmitted by a multiple-quantum-well GaAs/${\mathrm{Al}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$As sample with a ridged waveguide configuration obtained by chemical etching. The nonlinear response is investigated through optical hysteresis obtained by plotting the transmitted power versus the input power. The physical conditions are complementary to those that characterize previous experiments in the field of optical bistability in multiple-quantum-well structures. The numerical simulations, obtained using the first-principles approach previously developed by some of us [G. P. Bava, F. Castelli, P. Debernardi, and L. A. Lugiato, Phys. Rev. A 45, 5180 (1992)], are in satisfactory qualitative and semiquantitative agreement with the experimental data. The numerical simulations also prove that optical bistability could be observed in ridged waveguide samples using cw laser sources.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.50.5219

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We report on the observations of a nonlinear optical response in the radiation pulses transmitted by a multiple-quantum-well GaAs/{\mathrm{Al}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}As sample with a ridged waveguide configuration obtained by chemical etching. The nonlinear response is investigated through optical hysteresis obtained by plotting the transmitted power versus the input power. The physical conditions are complementary to those that characterize previous experiments in the field of optical bistability in multiple-quantum-well structures. The numerical simulations, obtained using the first-principles approach previously developed by some of us [G. P. Bava, F. Castelli, P. Debernardi, and L. A. Lugiato, Phys. Rev. A 45, 5180 (1992)], are in satisfactory qualitative and semiquantitative agreement with the experimental data. The numerical simulations also prove that optical bistability could be observed in ridged waveguide samples using cw laser sources.
Transmission of dye laser light pulses through GaAs/Ga0.7Al0.3As ridged waveguides, with propagation parallel to the Multiple Quantum Wells (MQW) layer, was investigated. Single-mode optical fibers have been used both to deliver light into the waveguides and to collect the transmitted pulses. The obtained results show the appearance of bistable cycles for input intensities above 300 kW/cm2. Room temperature fluorescence was also investigated under 6328 angstrom irradiation observing HH1 and LH1 transitions.
The system we analyze has the structure of a planar optical waveguide containing a multiple quantum well, with the planes of the wells parallel to the direction of propagation. We consider the two different configurations of a Fabry-P\'erot cavity and distributed-feedback device. The optical nonlinearities are described by means of the first-principles theory developed by Haug, Koch, Schmitt-Rink, and co-workers, generalized to include the finite width of the wells. The dynamics of the system is described by the equations that govern the evolution of the two counterpropagating fields, coupled with the carrier-density equation, and accompanied by the appropriate boundary conditions. The steady-state behavior is analyzed as a function of the control parameters of the system for the case of a GaAs/${\mathrm{Al}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$Gax{\mathrm{Ga}}_{\mathit{x}}Gax​As/AlAs structure. The system develops bistability even when the input field is in resonance with the excitonic peak, but the phenomenon becomes more pronounced in the detuned configuration. The hysteresis cycles obtained in the case of distributed-feedback device turn out to be competitive with those displayed by the Fabry-P\'erot system.
Epitaxial methods allow the fabrication of nonlinear interferomethc structures which include the mirrors and the GaAs Multiple Quantum Wells (MQW) nonlinear medium in a single crystal. This results in very compact nonlinear microcavities with typically 5im overall thickness. Optical bistability is observed in these structures at mW optical power. We review our latest experimental results on these structures including the observation of high contrast switching in the reflection mode the direct measurement of dispersive optical nonlinearities in MQWs evidencing their saturation behavior at high intensities. Finally we report external-beam switching experiments which allow to assess the potential of these structures as all-optical gates.
The temperature distribution in a GaAs/(Al,Ga)As multiple quantum well structure was measured with high lateral and temporal resolution while passing through the characteristic hysteresis loop of a thermally induced absorptive optical bistability. In a pump and probe beam experiment, the local transmission spectra of the quantum well structure were recorded and the temperature distribution in the sample was deduced from the spectral positions of characteristic exciton resonances. These resonances remain sufficiently sharp even far above room temperature to guarantee an accuracy of better than 3 K The experiment was conducted under both steady-state and dynamical conditions. The steady-state results were compared with numerical calculations, showing good agreement. The dependence of the relative width of the characteristic hysteresis on the environmental temperature of the bistable sample was investigated. A simple relaxation-time model of the bistability was shown to describe nicely the observed behaviour if the bleaching of the lowest exciton resonance due to high laser intensities is considered. Based on this dependence, a miniature temperature-sensing device using an optical fibre to guide the laser beam is presented.
The multiple quantum well structure, GaAs/GaAIAs, displays room temperature optical bistability at very low switching powers in various conditions through the temperature variation and the external voltage across the sample.1,2 We have constructed detailed models to calculate these effects. Coupled Maxwell’s equations and the heat conduction equation are solved to demonstrate how the red shift of the band gap leads to absorptive bistability. The spatial variation of the external field strength is a typical PIN junction and the experimental values of the absorption coefficient are used to obtain the bistability properties as a function of the incident frequency and the biased external voltage. The results based on the actual material constants are in good agreement with the experimental data without adjustable parameters. We also extend the previous work on the stability analysis in the mean-field approximation to this system involving complicated boundary conditions with the propagation effects.