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Applied Physics Letters

Whole-sample and localized induced-absorption optical bistability in GaAlAs waveguides

James Stewart Aitchison, J. D. R. Valera, Andrew Walker, S. Ritchie, P.M. Rodgers, P.W.A. McIlroy, G. I. Stegeman

Published Aug 24, 1987• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Induced-absorption optical bistability has been studied in GaAlAs heterostructure rib and slab waveguides. Both whole-sample and localized switching have been observed within the same device. The localized switch, which occurs on the time scale of a few microseconds and at an input power of 10–20 mW, has been induced using a laser-diode source.

DOI
10.1063/1.98347

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Applied Physics Letters•May 1, 1985•52 citations
Induced-absorption optical bistability has been studied in GaAlAs heterostructure rib and slab waveguides. Both whole-sample and localized switching have been observed within the same device. The localized switch, which occurs on the time scale of a few microseconds and at an input power of 10–20 mW, has been induced using a laser-diode source.
Previously reported observations of optical bistability in a GaAs/GaAlAs waveguide cavity included whole-sample thermally induced absorptive and refractive bistability [1] and localised (μs) thermally induced absorptive bistability [2]. Other groups have observed refractive bistability due to an optoelectronic mechanism in MQW GaAs/GaAlAs waveguides [3,4]. In this paper we report the observation of bistability due to thermally induced changes in leaky modes within a GaAs/GaAlAs waveguide and discuss the optimisation of optoelectronic nonlinearities in semiconductor guides of this type. A leaky planar waveguide consists of a low index layer bounded by two higher index layers. These exhibit radiative losses, where for the nth order mode the attenuation coefficient is proportional to (n+1)2 [5]. In this investigation the waveguides used were short enough to allow good transmission of the lower order modes.
Optical bistability has been observed in a semiconductor for the first time. The bistable etalon consists of a GaAlAs-GaAs-GaAlAs molecular-beam-epitaxially-grown sandwich with 90% reflectivity coatings. The bistability is primarily dispersive with the nonlinear refractive index arising from light-induced changes in exciton absorption. Using light of frequency just below the exciton peak, we observed bistability from 5 to 120 °K with 40-ns turn-off and subnanosecond turn-on times with 1 mW/μm2 holding intensity.
Photonic data transmission and processing require highly efficient all-optical elements for signal amplification, switching and data storage. It could be shown experimentally that semiconductor planar resonators can be envisaged as promising candidates [1]. In particular, optical bistability, that has been shown to exist in these configurations, opens a wide field of applications. Because the operating frequencies are near the band gap of the direct semiconductors used the nonlinearities are giant. Hence the critical power for nonlinear effects to occur is fairly moderate. In view of these advantages it might be worthwhile to study such resonators in a waveguide scheme because it can be included into integrated optics configurations. In planar resonators one has not to worry about the absorption, being extremely large near the gap, because the overall thickness is only a few micrometers and they are usually operated in reflection. The situation appears more involved in waveguides. Usually one prefers to exploit the transmitted signal in order to separate input and output channels. Moreover the efficiency of the distributed Bragg reflectors, surrounding the cavity, is usually some orders of magnitude less than that of conventional planar mirrors requiring rather long reflectors. Because the cavity length exceeds that of planar resonators considerably too one has to guarantee that the overwhelming part of the resonator is essentially transparent for the guided mode. This has of course the consequence that it does not contribute to any resonant nonlinear effect. Hence we propose a resonator that is only loaded by a thin layer of nonlinear but absorbing material (GaAs) in the cavity region (see Fig.1).
The authors have observed low-power optical bistability in an active strained InGaAs single-quantum-well waveguide which is biased with a quasi-constant current injection 20% below the threshold current. Although the output power measured after the output collecting lens is half of the peak input power measured before the input focusing lens, it is believed that this is mainly due to the inefficient coupling into a slab mode, and that optical switching occurs with net gain in the device. A channel waveguide with a similar active medium would operate with constant DC electrical bias and should provide significant overall gain.>