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Journal of Applied Physics

Transverse structures in resonatorless absorptive switching in bulk ZnSe

W. D. St. John, James P. Wicksted, Gene Cantwell

Published Mar 15, 1993• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Absorptive switching and transverse structures in resonatorless optical bistability in bulk ZnSe is observed upon exciting the sample at the Urbach edge. The switching is due to nonlinear absorption induced by a temperature tuning of the band gap. We have modeled such behavior by numerically solving for the intensity, carrier density, and temperature, including both longitudinal and transverse fluctuations. Simulations show that both longitudinal and transverse heat diffusion are necessary in producing specific structures, as well as in determining the time of switching. During switching, the experiment and theory illustrate for the intensity profile the formation of a local minima on axis (hole) followed by a local maxima on axis and local minima off axis (rings). Such beam distortions and bistable switching are the result of the spatial and temporal dynamics and positive feedback existing among the absorption and heating.

DOI
10.1063/1.353006

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Absorptive switching and transverse structures in resonatorless optical bistability in bulk ZnSe is observed upon exciting the sample at the Urbach edge. The switching is due to nonlinear absorption induced by a temperature tuning of the band gap. We have modeled such behavior by numerically solving for the intensity, carrier density, and temperature, including both longitudinal and transverse fluctuations. Simulations show that both longitudinal and transverse heat diffusion are necessary in producing specific structures, as well as in determining the time of switching. During switching, the experiment and theory illustrate for the intensity profile the formation of a local minima on axis (hole) followed by a local maxima on axis and local minima off axis (rings). Such beam distortions and bistable switching are the result of the spatial and temporal dynamics and positive feedback existing among the absorption and heating.
The switching dynamics of thermally induced optical bistability due to increasing absorption is investigated in thin CdS platelets, at room temperature. Fast and slow components can be observed during the switching process, they depend on the holding point intensity and on the switching pulse energy. It is shown that the transverse relaxation of the temperature in the sample influences this dynamics. The spectral shift of the band to band absorption edge, at the origin of the bistable behavior, is observed in a three beam experiment.
Transverse beam-profile variations are investigated for a system which shows cavityless optical bistability due to increasing absorption. Coupled transport equations for the light field and the excitation density are derived and solved numerically for the case of an optically thin sample, where longitudinal density variations can be neglected and where diffusion of the excitation is the dominant transverse coupling mechanism. Assuming a Gaussian input beam, the increasing absorption is shown to cause substantial profile modifications when the medium undergoes the transition from low to high absorption. The formation of spatial ring structures is predicted and it is shown that transverse carrier diffusion plays an important role in determining both the steady-state and the temporal response of the system.
Recently, we predicted1) that partial sample switching can occur in a system showing resonatorless optical bistability due to induced absorption. For an increasing intensity of the incident light, a stepwise propagation of the kink in the excitation profile takes place. In the meantime, the corresponding modulation of the transmitted light has been observed in sharp-cut color filters2). Here, we present an in-depth study of the structure, formation and motion of the kinks. We supplement and expand our original numerical investigations1) by detailed analytical studies. We show that the kink profile may be approximated by a soliton structure if the diffusion of the excitation density is taken into account. Furthermore, we present some simple estimates for the kink propagation.