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Journal of Lightwave Technology

Slow Light Using P-Doped Semiconductor Heterostructures for High-Bandwidth Nonlinear Signal Processing

Dong Sun, C. C. Kuo

Published Dec 1, 2008• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a novel scheme for slow light based on a resonant three-level lambda system (RTLS) in a p-doped semiconductor heterostructure. Numerical simulations show that a slow-down factor of 145 and a slow-down-bandwidth product exceeding 200 THz can be achieved in semiconductor quantum wells at room temperature. These figures of merit make the RTLS slow light especially useful for the enhancement of the optical nonlinearity in high bandwidth all-optical signal processing applications.

DOI
10.1109/jlt.2008.2005121

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We propose a novel scheme for slow light based on a resonant three-level lambda system (RTLS) in a p-doped semiconductor heterostructure. Numerical simulations show that a slow-down factor of 145 and a slow-down-bandwidth product exceeding 200 THz can be achieved in semiconductor quantum wells at room temperature. These figures of merit make the RTLS slow light especially useful for the enhancement of the optical nonlinearity in high bandwidth all-optical signal processing applications.
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This paper presents a novel method to tune the optical buffers center frequency, bandwidth and slow down factor. In this way, we consider the diamagnetic shift of exciton energy levels in quantum wells. Analysis and simulation of a basic GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells optical buffer verifies the ability of this new method to control the frequency and time domain properties of an optical slow light device. Simulation shows that magnetic field intensity could increase the limited gigahertz bandwidth of this device up to 1 THz. These achievements are useful in optical nonlinearity enhancement and all-optical signal processing applications.
Slow and fast light enables key functionality in various rf applications and all-optical networks. Semiconductor-based schemes offer electrical control of velocity at very high bandwidths in an extremely compact device. Furthermore, they operate at room temperature and can be easily integrated into various optical systems. Ultrafast nonlinear processes in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) have been used to achieve tunable slow and fast light in the terahertz bandwidth. For a 700 fs pulse, we show an electrically and optically controllable advance of 1.9 ps corresponding to an advance-bandwidth product (ABP) of 2.5. Furthermore, by leveraging self-phase modulation in these devices, we extend the performance to an ABP of 3.7. We develop comprehensive theory using a density matrix approach to explain the experimental results. Our results show that an ultrashort pulse propagating through the SOA experiences nonlinear index change due to spectral-hole burning and wave mixing between different spectral components. We derive analytical expressions for the nonlinear index induced by these ultrafast processes and numerically solve the propagation of an ultrashort pulse through the SOA. Our theoretical predictions agree very well with our experimental results. Finally, we show fast light for two ultrashort pulses separated by 7.2 ps, which demonstrates the feasibility of this scheme at high bit rates.
The ability to manipulate the speed of light has recently become one of the most exciting emergent topics in optics. There are several experimental demonstrations showing the capability to slow down light more than six orders of magnitude in a variety of media, ranging from atomic vapor, solid state crystal, to semiconductors. These results have led to intensive research into new materials, devices, and system studies that examine their impact to new applications. It is believed that we are on the verge of a dramatic change in the way we envision and construct communication, processing and control systems. One direct application of slow and fast light devices is in the area of communications. One grand challenge remaining in information technology today is to store and buffer optical signals directly in optical format. As such, optical signals must be converted to electronic signals to route, switch, or be processed. This resulted in significant latencies and traffic congestions in current networks. In addition, keeping the data in optical domain during the routing process can greatly reduce the power, complexity and size of the routers. To this end, a controllable optical delay line can effectively function as an optical buffer, and the storage is proportional to the variability of the group velocity. In addition to optical buffers, slow and fast light devices can be used as tunable true-time delay elements in microwave photonics, which are important for remotely controlling phased array antenna. Other novel applications include nonlinear optics, optical signal processing, and quantum information processing. There are various approaches that can be used to vary the optical group velocity. Ultraslow or fast group velocity may result from a large material dispersion, waveguide dispersion, or both. In this paper, the authors provide a review of recent progress of slow and fast light using semiconductor devices. Specifically, they will discuss results obtained using semiconductor quantum-well/quantum-dot absorber and optical amplifiers. Slow and fast light are controllable electrically by changing the bias current or voltage as well as optically by changing the pump laser intensity and wavelength. Delay-bandwidth tradeoff and other figures of merits are analyzed
This paper presents an overview of slow light in semiconductor heterostructures. The focus of this paper is to provide a unified framework to summarize and compare various physical mechanisms of slow light proposed and demonstrated in the past few years. We expand and generalize the discussions on fundamental limitation of slow light and the delay–bandwidth product trade-off to include gain systems and other mechanisms such as injection locking. We derive the maximum fractional delay and compare the differences between material dispersion and waveguide dispersion based devices. The delay–bandwidth product is proportional to the square root of the device length for a material dispersion based device but has a linear relationship for a waveguide dispersion based device. Possible scenarios to overcome the delay–bandwidth product limitation are discussed. The prospects of slow light in various applications are also investigated.