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Applied Physics Letters

Optical bistability in an InGaAs/InP multiple quantum well waveguide Fabry–Perot cavity

Jeffrey E. Ehrlich, David T. Neilson, Andy C. Walker, G. T. Kennedy, R. S. Grant, W. Sibbett, M. Hopkinson, M.A. Pate

Published Sep 20, 1993• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report measurements of quasi-cw optical bistability in an InGaAs/InP multiple quantum well waveguide Fabry–Perot cavity at 1.47 μm wavelength. This operating wavelength is detuned from the band-edge resonance by 0.07 μm, where an enhanced free-carrier contribution to the nonlinear refractive index due to 2D confinement of carriers in the quantum wells accounts for the large index variations. The effect of any thermally induced nonlinear response is negligible.

DOI
10.1063/1.110711

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Physical Review A•Apr 1, 1992•9 citations
We report measurements of quasi-cw optical bistability in an InGaAs/InP multiple quantum well waveguide Fabry–Perot cavity at 1.47 μm wavelength. This operating wavelength is detuned from the band-edge resonance by 0.07 μm, where an enhanced free-carrier contribution to the nonlinear refractive index due to 2D confinement of carriers in the quantum wells accounts for the large index variations. The effect of any thermally induced nonlinear response is negligible.
Optical bistability in a single quantum well waveguide resonator in the InP/InGaAsP material system is demonstrated. High contrast ratio (≳3:1) and switching at low power (≊1.5 mW) was obtained by using a single quantum well at a wavelength near the maximum nonlinear refractive index change and by depositing a reflective coating on the rear end of the waveguide. Clear optical bistability is observed in a wide wavelength range of 1480–1525 nm. Due to the low input power, cw operation of the device was possible at room temperature.
We demonstrate optically bistable (light switching light) operation in a room-temperature InGaAsP Fabry-Perot amplifier. The amplifier is an InGaAsP/InP laser structure biased at ~95% of its lasing threshold. It is switched with <3 μW of optical power provided by the mechanically chopped output of a quasi-single-mode InGaAsP/InP laser. The experimental apparatus is depicted in Fig, 1. A change in the refractive Index in the amplifier of only 5 × 10−4 is sufficient to cause switching. Input and output pulses from the nonlinear amplifier are shown in Fig. 2 when the source frequency is initially detuned by 14 GHz from the closest Fabry-Perot mode of the amplifier. Smaller switching powers are required at lesser detunings. The physical mechanism of the intensity-dependent change of the refractive index is thought to be the change in carrier density resulting from stimulated recombination of free carriers.
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.