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Journal of Modern Optics

Wavelength Dependence of Optical Bistability in Molecular-beam-deposited ZnSe Interference Filters

Alan Miller, J. Staromlynska, Ian T. Muirhead, Keith L. Lewis

Published Mar 1, 1988• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Complete ZnSe interference filters exhibiting optical bistability have been fabricated using ultrahigh-vacuum molecular-beam techniques. The wavelength dependence of the critical switching power was measured at five wavelengths between 521 and 676 nm for a filter with two-period ZnSe/BaF2 multilayer reflectors and an initial assessment has been made of their long-term operational stability.

DOI
10.1080/09500348814550551

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Journal of Applied Physics•Oct 1, 1988•4 citations
Complete ZnSe interference filters exhibiting optical bistability have been fabricated using ultrahigh-vacuum molecular-beam techniques. The wavelength dependence of the critical switching power was measured at five wavelengths between 521 and 676 nm for a filter with two-period ZnSe/BaF2 multilayer reflectors and an initial assessment has been made of their long-term operational stability.
We observe and compare conditions for cw optical bistability in both thermal-vacuum-deposited and molecular beam grown ZnSe-based interference filters, at He–Ne-laser (633-nm), Kr (647-nm), and Ar-ion (514-nm) wave-lengths. Bistability is observed at 514 and 647 nm and, by inference, should be observable at a number of intervening wavelengths for a single molecular-beam-grown sample. From our theoretical analysis we also demonstrate that observed drift instabilities in filter nonlinear responses correlate with the highest internal irradiance levels.
For the first time, ZnSe epitaxial layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are shown to exhibit large contrast, low power, and extremely long-term stable thermally induced absorptive optical bistability. It is observed over a wide temperature range between 169 K and RT, with a strongly variable loop width and a switch-back adjustable to be less than 50% of the respective switch-down value. Critical slowing down as well as switch-down times are studied in dependence of the excess over the switch-down intensity values.