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IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics

Optically controlled two channel integrated-optical switch

Peter S. Cross, Ronald V. Schmidt, Robert L. Thornton, P. W. E. Smith

Published Aug 1, 1978• 42 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An integrated optical bistable device based on a waveguide directional coupler switch is demonstrated. The device has four optical ports, and the power incident on the two input ports exists from two distinct output ports so that all-optical data processing or remote optical switching can be performed. On/off ratios as high as 12 dB have been observed. A switching time of\sim300 \mus and switching energy of ∼3 pJ have been achieved.

DOI
10.1109/jqe.1978.1069859

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An integrated optical bistable device based on a waveguide directional coupler switch is demonstrated. The device has four optical ports, and the power incident on the two input ports exists from two distinct output ports so that all-optical data processing or remote optical switching can be performed. On/off ratios as high as 12 dB have been observed. A switching time of\sim300 \mus and switching energy of ∼3 pJ have been achieved.
In this paper experimental results concerning the remote control of a bistable directional coupler switch are reported. It is shown that the output light from the coupler can be switched from one channel to the other via switching information contained in the incident light itself. The principle of operation of the device is demonstrated using a coupler fabricated in an LiNbO3substrate. A switching time of the order of 100 μs has been obtained, limited only by the electronic feedback loop used in the experiment.
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In the nonlinear directional coupler, the optical field and the nonlinear material usually interact in a spatially and temporally local fashion and the device exhibits a nonlinear transmission characteristics, but it is not bistable. In this paper, it is shown theoretically that optical bistability in the input optical power is possible for the nonlinear directional coupler if the local phase change of the optical mode propagating through tile coupler is influenced by the excitation over the whole coupler. This condition can be satisfied in a coupler based on biased-pin-diodes comprising coupled asymmetric quantum wells in the i-region, Calculations show that in this configuration, the nonlinear directional coupler can exhibit sharp switching characteristics, low switching optical powers, optical bistability or bifurcation.
All-optical switching phenomena within a waveguide configuration are of considerable interest for routing and signal processing applications in communications systems. Two classes of device can be identified: those dependent on non-resonant ultrafast nonlinearities, capable of switching at the data-rate of ultra-high frequency signals; and those exploiting the much lower power resonant nonlinear phenomena which, due to their slower (> 100ps) response, are suitable as data-transparent switches capable of opening or closing the desired channels within a network under optical control.
We describe two approaches to low-energy switching and optical bistability. In one approach, which is a more fundamental approach, we use the nonlinearity associated with bound excitons in CdS to demonstrate the lowest total switching energy (4 pJ) of any optical device exhibiting two stable output states for the same input intensity.1 Bound excitons were chosen because they are known to have a very large oscillator strength (f = 7), a fast radiative decay (tspont = 500 ps), and they do not diffuse in the crystal, thus permitting a sharp focusing geometry. Furthermore, they are a good approximation to quantum dots. In a different experiment we have operated a standard diode laser structure below threshold and have demonstrated an efficient optical switch that can be used in thresholding and decision-making applications. The device switches with <400 aJ (4 × 10−16 J or <3000 photons) of optical energy incident on the device.2 During the switching operation, only 10 pJ of electrical power is dissipated. The switch operates at room temperature, is compatible with optical communication systems, and has a gain of the order of 15 dB, leading to the important properties of cascadability and large fan-out. The operation of a high contrast (5:1) AND gate was demonstrated.