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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Propagation methods for the analysis of bistable devices and spatial light modulators based on nonlinear molecular media

Shammai Speiser, David Groswasser, Meir Orenstein

Published Nov 25, 1993• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We already discussed the bistable behavior of a Fabry Perot resonator filled with molecular media as well as the characteristics of a spatial light modulator (SLM) based on the nonlinearity induced by excited state absorption. In the present paper we present two practical configurations. First we analyze a cavity-less bistable element which removes some of the realization problems related to high finess cavity. In this configuration the nonlinear medium is located in one arm of an optical interferometer. The scheme provides the required amount of positive feedback by the bistable mechanism -- but without a cavity. We applied the nonlinear eikonal approximation, a method which takes care of the detailed propagation effects, and obtained conditions for bistability, as well as optimizing the design parameters such as the output mirror reflectivity, etc.

DOI
10.1117/12.163645

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We already discussed the bistable behavior of a Fabry Perot resonator filled with molecular media as well as the characteristics of a spatial light modulator (SLM) based on the nonlinearity induced by excited state absorption. In the present paper we present two practical configurations. First we analyze a cavity-less bistable element which removes some of the realization problems related to high finess cavity. In this configuration the nonlinear medium is located in one arm of an optical interferometer. The scheme provides the required amount of positive feedback by the bistable mechanism -- but without a cavity. We applied the nonlinear eikonal approximation, a method which takes care of the detailed propagation effects, and obtained conditions for bistability, as well as optimizing the design parameters such as the output mirror reflectivity, etc.
A novel spatial light modulator (SLM) based on nonlinear absorption of light by excited molecules is suggested. A kinetic analysis is applied to calculate the relative populations of molecular levels in singlet and triplet manifolds. It is shown that for many actual cases a probe light can be modulated by propagating through a medium excited by another light source. The dependence of the molecular SLM on the photophysical parameters of the SLM medium is discussed. The same type of molecular nonlinearities can be utilized for optical bistability, as is demonstrated for some dyes.
We present a theory of optical bistability for a Fabry-Perot cavity containing a medium with nonlinear refraction but linear absorption with only plane-wave and slowly varying envelope approximations. An analytic expression for the critical intensity Icfor the onset of bistability is derived and used to compare cavity designs. It is shown that 1) the important material parameter for minimum Icis the ration_{2}/\alpha 2) the limit to Icis set by limitations on finesse due to inhomogeneities rather than the absorption itself, and 3) the cavity design which gives lowest Icfor a given finesse is that for which the mirror transmissivity equals the absorption per pass; at high finesse this design leads to a total peak cavity transmission of 1/4 when mirror reflectivities are equal.
A theoretical demonstration of optical bistability in periodic layered media, particularly in long-period GaAs/AlAs superlattices is presented. The proposed structure consists of a periodic multilayer system, as opposed to previously demonstrated nonlinear bistable devices which employed Fabry-Perot etalons. The optical resonance effect which is essential for bistable devices is, in this case, induced by a refractive index modulation. The nonlinear active medium is distributed in the whole structure rather than placed between the two mirrors of a Fabry-Perot cavity. It is shown by a complete calculation of wave propagation in the periodic nonlinear medium that a multiple valued feature appears in the structure's nonlinear reflectivity spectrum. The input/output characteristics of the structure exhibit bistable hysteresis similar to that of a nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon.>
The influence of transverse effects on optical bistability in Fabry-Perot cavity filled with saturable absorber was numerically investigated. A simple model of singlet absorption was used on numerically solving the relationships between the input and output light fields. The proposed model corresponds well to organic compounds considered as novel optical materials with third-order optical nonlinearities. The proposed optically bistable systems were demonstrated for two organic dyes of fluorescein and rhodamine 6G dispersed in transparent solid matrices. Their optically bistable behaviour was anticipated considering the homogeneous and Gaussian distribution of light energy in the radial direction. Most notable cases are discussed related to the changes of the Gaussian beam radii, positive feedback conditions in the Fabry-Perot cavity and considering linear and nonlinear absorption parameters of the organic media. The simulation results enabled us to establish numerically thresholds of Fabry-Perot mirror reflectance and Gaussian beam radius for both nonlinear organic materials, above which absorptive optical bistability can occur. The results can be helpful in design of optical switches for all-optical communication networks.