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Journal of the Physical Society of Japan

Optical Bistability in Prism/Ag Film/Nonlinear Film/Air Geometry by Utilizing Surface Plasmon and Guided Wave Characteristics

Toshihiro Okamoto, Masanobu Haraguchi, Masuo Fukui, Hiroshi Kawakami, S.J. Al-Bader

Published Mar 15, 1993• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We have numerically investigated optical bistability (OB) in a TaFD9 prism/Ag film/PDA-4BCMU film/air geometry. 4BCMU films are dealt as nonlinear optic films with Kerr nonlinearity. In the geometry of our interest surface plasmon polaritons and guided waves can be excited. Numerical calculations have been carried out for TE- and TM-polarized incident lights. In the case of guided waves the critical power density required for OB is less than 1 W/cm 2 under a certain condition. This is a promising value to realize actual optic devices.

DOI
10.1143/jpsj.62.918

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We have numerically investigated optical bistability (OB) in a TaFD9 prism/Ag film/PDA-4BCMU film/air geometry. 4BCMU films are dealt as nonlinear optic films with Kerr nonlinearity. In the geometry of our interest surface plasmon polaritons and guided waves can be excited. Numerical calculations have been carried out for TE- and TM-polarized incident lights. In the case of guided waves the critical power density required for OB is less than 1 W/cm 2 under a certain condition. This is a promising value to realize actual optic devices.
We have theoretically analysed the optical bistability due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SP's) in samples, prism/metal film/nonlinear optic medium and prism/gap material/metal film/non-linear optic medium, where the non-linear optic medium has an intensity-dependent refractive index. We considered two cases, i.e. non-linearity along the propagation direction of SP's and along the normal to the interface. In the former case, the critical input power for the optical bistability was too high to allow experimental observation, while it was reasonably low for the latter case.
We consider an attenuated total reflection prism-coupling geometry used to excite surface-plasmon waves along a metal film, bounded by a substrate with an intensity-dependent dielectric constant. Nonlinear wave theory is developed in the infinite incident plane-wave approximation, assuming a dielectric constant proportional to the square of the electric field normal to the film. We calculate the intensity required to observe bistability in the reflected intensity by excitation of the nonlinear, long-range surface plasmon and find it to be 2 orders of magnitude less than that required for the nonlinear, single-surface plasmon. We compare the nonlinear wave analysis with other approaches and illustrate the effects of the sign of the nonlinearity and of a nonlinear coupling layer.
Optical bistability based on surface plasmon polaritons in the Kretschmann configuration involving a Kerr nonlinear medium is described by analytical solutions. The conditions of forming the optical bistability with different parameters are explored. The resonant angle of surface plasmon polaritons varying with the incident light intensity also generates the phenomenon of bistability. The system could form optical bistability with the special thickness of the metal film and incident angle. This kind of system has potential application in all-optical networks.
We have analyzed four different guided wave approaches to achieving a power dependent refractive index and optical bistability. These include surface plasmons at the interface between a metal and a semiconductor, symmetric surface plasmon modes guided by thin metal films, conventional single film integrated optics waveguides, and multifilm integrated optics. The relative merits of each geometry are discussed for utilizing the large cubic nonlinearities in the semiconductors GaAs and InSb. Both the mode attenuation and the minimum power required for a nonlinear phase shift of pi/2 are evaluated numerically and it is shown that usable propagation distances can be obtained, even for highly lossy media such as GaAs.
We have analyzed four different guided wave approaches to achieving a power dependent refractive index and optical bistability. These include surface plasmons at the interface between a metal and a semiconductor, symmetric surface plasmon modes guided by thin metal films, conventional single film integrated optics waveguides, and multifilm integrated optics. The relative merits of each geometry are discussed for utilizing the large cubic nonlinearities in the semiconductors GaAs and InSb. Both the mode attenuation and the minimum power required for a nonlinear phase shift of\pi/2are evaluated numerically and it is shown that usable propagation distances can be obtained, even for highly lossy media such as GaAs.