This paper presents theoretical investigations on a new ring cavity-coupled scheme of a Michelson interferometer with a linear loop mirror, which has the attraction of low loss and high stability due to the closed geometry. The optical transmission response is modeled using a scattering matrix approach and analytical expressions are derived. This single ring cavity-coupled system exhibits optical Fano resonance features and significantly enhances the switching sensitivity to the cavity detuning required for a large ON/OFF contrast ratio. The evolution of Fano-like interference and the effect of ring cavity confinement on the Fano-like resonance are studied numerically. Furthermore, optical bistability and multi-bistability are demonstrated by introducing Kerr nonlinearity inside the ring cavity. The shape and polarity of hysteresis loops are easily controllable by adjusting the phase compensation of the direct channel, while the switching thresholds are affected remarkably by the linear phase shift of the ring cavity. The simple structure of the single cavity-coupled interferometer will be important for practical applications in optical sensors, all-optical switches and logic function elements.This paper presents theoretical investigations on a new ring cavity-coupled scheme of a Michelson interferometer with a linear loop mirror, which has the attraction of low loss and high stability due to the closed geometry. The optical transmission response is modeled using a scattering matrix approach and analytical expressions are derived. This single ring cavity-coupled system exhibits optical Fano resonance features and significantly enhances the switching sensitivity to the cavity detuning required for a large ON/OFF contrast ratio. The evolution of Fano-like interference and the effect of ring cavity confinement on the Fano-like resonance are studied numerically. Furthermore, optical bistability and multi-bistability are demonstrated by introducing Kerr nonlinearity inside the ring cavity. The shape and polarity of hysteresis loops are easily controllable by adjusting the phase compensation of the direct channel, while the switching thresholds are affected remarkably by the linear phase shift of the ring cavity. The simple structure of the single cavity-coupled interferometer will be important for practical applications in optical sensors, all-optical switches and logic function elements.

Journal of Optics A Pure and Applied OpticsJun 3, 20087 citations

Polarization and amplitude optical multistability in a nonlinear ring cavity

I. P. Areshev, T. A. Murina, Nikolay N. Rosanov +1 more

Optics CommunicationsOct 1, 198320 citations

Dynamical behaviors of three-level atoms inside an optical ring cavity

Wenge Yang

Jan 1, 20050 citations

Nonlinear all-optical switch based on a white-light cavity

Na Li, Jingping Xu, Ge Song +5 more

It is well known that there is a bottleneck for nonlinear all-optical switching, namely, the switching power and the switching time cannot be lowered simultaneously. A lower switching power requires a resonator with a high quality ( $Q$ ) factor, but leads to a longer switching time. We propose to overcome this bottleneck by replacing the nonlinear cavity in such an all-optical switch by a white-light cavity. This can be done by doping three-level atoms in the ring resonator and applying incoherent pump and coherent driving fields on it. The white-light cavity possesses broadband resonance in a linear region. Therefore, for the incident pulse, a broad range of frequency components can take part in the nonlinear process, and so it requires lower power to achieve switching compared to the conventional ring resonator. On the other hand, the refractive index of a white-light cavity has negative dispersion, leading to a fast group velocity. This results in a shorter time to build up the resonant response, yielding a short switching time.It is well known that there is a bottleneck for nonlinear all-optical switching, namely, the switching power and the switching time cannot be lowered simultaneously. A lower switching power requires a resonator with a high quality ($Q$) factor, but leads to a longer switching time. We propose to overcome this bottleneck by replacing the nonlinear cavity in such an all-optical switch by a white-light cavity. This can be done by doping three-level atoms in the ring resonator and applying incoherent pump and coherent driving fields on it. The white-light cavity possesses broadband resonance in a linear region. Therefore, for the incident pulse, a broad range of frequency components can take part in the nonlinear process, and so it requires lower power to achieve switching compared to the conventional ring resonator. On the other hand, the refractive index of a white-light cavity has negative dispersion, leading to a fast group velocity. This results in a shorter time to build up the resonant response, yielding a short switching time.

Physical Review AApr 12, 201619 citations

Q

) factor, but leads to a longer switching time. We propose to overcome this bottleneck by replacing the nonlinear cavity in such an all-optical switch by a white-light cavity. This can be done by doping three-level atoms in the ring resonator and applying incoherent pump and coherent driving fields on it. The white-light cavity possesses broadband resonance in a linear region. Therefore, for the incident pulse, a broad range of frequency components can take part in the nonlinear process, and so it requires lower power to achieve switching compared to the conventional ring resonator. On the other hand, the refractive index of a white-light cavity has negative dispersion, leading to a fast group velocity. This results in a shorter time to build up the resonant response, yielding a short switching time.