Room-temperature optical bistability has been demonstrated in hydrogenated amorphous silicon at wavelengths greater than about 700 nm. Switching powers as low as 0.8 mW (switching intensities 1.7 kW/cm2) are observed. The measured switching times are found to be compound, with time constants from 50 μs to 1 ms.

Applied Physics LettersMar 12, 19907 citations

Study of Optical Nonlinearity in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Carbide Films

Jun Xu, Kunji Chen, Xinfan Huang +5 more

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC x :H) films were prepared by glow discharge technique with gas mixture of silane (SiH 4 ) and methane (CH 4 ). The room-temperature optical bistability was demonstrated in uncoated a-SiC x :H films at the excitation wavelength about 532 nm. The switch-on intensity of device is about 0.8 MW/cm 2 and the switching time is in the nanosecond scale. The physical origin of the optical nonlinearity in these materials is also discussed.

Chinese Physics LettersMar 1, 19930 citations