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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series A Mathematical and Physical Sciences

One-electron theory of nonlinear refraction

Brian S. Wherrett

Published Dec 18, 1984• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The design of optically bistable cavities for low-power switching requires an understanding of the variation of nonlinearities in refractive index with material, temperature, wavelength and cavity parameters. Analytic expressions, suitable for scaling, are discussed. The connections between the giant nonlinearities under current investigation and the nonlinear optical mixing processes studied since the 1960s are reviewed and the self-consistent semiconductor optical bistability problem is summarized.

DOI
10.1098/rsta.1984.0098

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Abstract The design of optically bistable cavities for low-power switching requires an understanding of the variation of nonlinearities in refractive index with material, temperature, wavelength and cavity parameters. Analytic expressions, suitable for scaling, are discussed. The connections between the giant nonlinearities under current investigation and the nonlinear optical mixing processes studied since the 1960s are reviewed and the self-consistent semiconductor optical bistability problem is summarized.
Nonlinear optical properties of laser-excited semiconductors are discussed, and the applications to optical bistability and optical logic are reviewed. The physical origin of the nonlinearities is analyzed in terms of the many-body interactions in the system of electron-hole pairs, causing effects such as plasma screening of the Coulomb interaction, band-gap renormalization, and band filling. Theoretical results for absorption and refractive-index spectra are compared to experimental data obtained for room-temperature GaAs and other semiconductors. The experimental and theoretical results for dispersive optical bistability in semiconductors are summarized, and recent experiments on optical logic gating and pattern recognition are discussed.
Abstract This paper briefly reviews the nonlinear optical and electro-optical properties and applications of GaAs—AlGaAs multiple quantum wells, all of which are compatible with laser diodes or semiconductor electronics or both. They show large nonlinear absorption and refraction (associated with their strong room-temperature exciton resonances) applicable to all-optical devices. They also show large electroabsorptive effects, some of which are unique to the quantum wells at any temperature, which are so strong that optical modulators can be made with micrometre dimensions. A new class of optical bistability (due to increasing absorption) is also reviewed; combination of this with the electroabsorptive effects enables a new mirrorless optical switch called a Self Electro-optic Effect Device (SEED), which sets a new standard for optical switching energies, with energy densities reduced by a factor of six by comparison to even the best resonant cavity devices.