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Applied Physics Letters

Optical bistability at the band gap in InAs

CRAIG D. POOLE, E. Garmire

Published Feb 15, 1984• 39 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Observation of optical bistability at the band gap in InAs is reported. Clear hysteresis was seen in the reflected signal from a Fabry–Perot etalon consisting of polished n-type InAs with silver deposited on the back surface. By using the 3.096-μm line of an HF laser, which matches the band gap at 77 K, bistable switching was achieved with power levels as low as 3 mW (peak intensity 75 W/cm2).

DOI
10.1063/1.94777

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Abstract The results of an experimental investigation ol nonlinearities and bistability at the band gap in InAs are presented. Bistability was observed in reflection at 3 mW with a HF laser by using the large nonlinearity at the band-gap resonance in InAs. The measured nonlinear refractive index is shown quantitatively to agree with the dynamic Burstein—Moss shift as the mechanism, as long as both the full Fermi-Dirac statistics and the effect of light holes are included in the calculation. In a separate study a theoretical analysis has investigated general conditions for intrinsic bistability without cavities. It is shown that bistability can result from a nonlinear constitutive relation. Specific calculations are presented for bistability due to nonlinear polarization.

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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.

Applied Physics Letters•Jun 5, 1995•9 citations
Observation of optical bistability at the band gap in InAs is reported. Clear hysteresis was seen in the reflected signal from a Fabry–Perot etalon consisting of polished n-type InAs with silver deposited on the back surface. By using the 3.096-μm line of an HF laser, which matches the band gap at 77 K, bistable switching was achieved with power levels as low as 3 mW (peak intensity 75 W/cm2).
A detailed study of bandgap resonant optical nonlinearities in n-type InAs and their use in an optical bistable device is presented. The results of measurements of both nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction taken with an HF laser show good agreement with a band-filling model in which the contribution from the light-hole band and the effects of large initial free carrier densities are included. Evidence of the saturation of the nonlinear refraction through the carrier-density-dependent recombination rate is presented, and it is shown that this effect together with diffraction effects accounts for the critical power for bistability observed in the reflected signal from an InAs etalon at 77 K.
Optical bistability can be obtained in nonlinear materials either with Fabry-Perot mirrors or without external feedback. When a material is placed between partially reflecting mirrors, a nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon is formed with the etalon providing an external feedback. Optical bistability and gating occur as a result of a shift in the Fabry-Perot peak when the light intensity is increased (or when a second laser beam is introduced into the cavity). Optical bistability with the external feedback mechanism has been observed in many semiconductors such as bulk GaAs, GaAs-AIGaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) structures, InSb, InAs, CdS, CdHgTe, GaSe, and CuCI.
Abstract The results of an experimental investigation ol nonlinearities and bistability at the band gap in InAs are presented. Bistability was observed in reflection at 3 mW with a HF laser by using the large nonlinearity at the band-gap resonance in InAs. The measured nonlinear refractive index is shown quantitatively to agree with the dynamic Burstein—Moss shift as the mechanism, as long as both the full Fermi-Dirac statistics and the effect of light holes are included in the calculation. In a separate study a theoretical analysis has investigated general conditions for intrinsic bistability without cavities. It is shown that bistability can result from a nonlinear constitutive relation. Specific calculations are presented for bistability due to nonlinear polarization.
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.