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Applied Physics Letters

Room-temperature optical bistability in InGaAsP/InP amplifiers and implications for passive devices

Wayne F. Sharfin, M. Dagenais

Published May 1, 1985• 52 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Optical bistability has been observed for the first time in a room-temperature InGaAsP/InP amplifier. Switching occurred at an optical input power of about 3 μW, corresponding to a change in the refractive index of 5×10−4. The results are discussed in terms of a light-induced change in carrier concentration. Implications for bistability in passive devices are also discussed.

DOI
10.1063/1.95895

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Optical bistability in InGaAsP amplifiers and implications for passive devices

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Electronic optical bistability in an InGaAs/InAlAs multiple quantum well étalon at 1.5 μm wavelength

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Optical bistabilities due to electronic refractive index changes are observed in an InGaAs/InAlAs multiple quantum well étalon device at around 1.5 μm wavelength. The switching speeds of less than 30 ns and the induced refractive index changes of −0.1% are observed using a tunable F-center laser.

Applied Physics Letters•May 21, 1990•10 citations
Optical bistability has been observed for the first time in a room-temperature InGaAsP/InP amplifier. Switching occurred at an optical input power of about 3 μW, corresponding to a change in the refractive index of 5×10−4. The results are discussed in terms of a light-induced change in carrier concentration. Implications for bistability in passive devices are also discussed.
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.
Dispersive bistability arising from the carrier-dependence of the refractive index has been observed in semiconductor lasers operated just below threshold with a small injected optical signal. The minimum optical input required for switch-up is as low as 1 μW for InGaAsP amplifiers at 1.55 μm(1) and 1.3 μm(2) (cf 30 μW for GaAs devices(3)). As yet, reliable measurements of the dynamic response are not (4) available, although we predict recovery times to be on the order of carrier lifetimes, ie a few nanoseconds at room temperature. This contribution will review our experimental and theoretical work on 1.55 μm amplifier bistability and set it in the context of other semiconductor bistable optical devices.
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.
Optical bistability in semiconductor laser amplifiers is particularly interesting because of the gain provided by the device. Small changes, in input power can result in large changes in amplifier gain, and this leads to possible applications in all-optical regenerators for transmission systems. Other possible applications include their use as optical switches and logic elements.1 Optical bistability in GaAs laser amplifiers operating at 850 nm has been reported previously.2 Here we report for the first time measured results at 1.5 μm with an InGaAsP device.