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IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications

The switching dynamics and noise limitations of indium antimonide bistable elements

Hugh Alexander MacKenzie, J. Young, Abdul-Hussain K. Iltaif, Hameed A. Al‐Attar

Published Jan 1, 1988• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The switching dynamics of an InSb optically bistable etalon are analyzed in terms of effective time constants which change dramatically near the switch points. Results are presented which show nanosecond switching, critical slowing down, optical biomodality, and noise filtration. The influence of noise levels on both the switching dynamics and the system stability close to switching are discussed. The InSb-CO system has the merits of being extremely stable and reproducible so that the detailed switching dynamics and statistics can be reliably assessed. In addition, it may be regarded as a model system so that the results presented can be scaled with appropriate material time constants to other bistable systems.>

DOI
10.1109/49.7835

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We report the first known direct observation of the critical slowing-down effect and transient bimodality in an intrinsic semiconductor all-optically bistable device with a cw CO laser holding beam and a PbSSe diode laser switching beam. The measurements of critical slow-down effects show good agreement with the numerical model using a modified Debye dynamic equation. The switching profile has been shown to depend on both the size of the hysteresis loop and the diode pulse parameter. A scaling law for the delay time of the switching when external parameter P changes close to the critical value Pc has been indicated to fit (P − Pc)−1/2.

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In this work, analytical study for simulating a Fabry-Perot bistable etalon (F-P cavity) filled with a dispersive optimized nonlinear optical material (Kerr type) such as semiconductors Indium Antimonide (InSb). Because of a trade off between the etalon finesse values and driving terms, an optimization procedures have been done on the InSb etalon/CO laser parameters, using critical switching irradiance (Ic) via simulation systems of optimization procedures of optical cavity. in order to achieve the minimum switching power and faster switching time, the optimization parameters of the finesse values and driving terms on optical bistability and switching dynamics must be studied. In addition, for different values of a cavity finesse (for example, F = 25 and 2.37) the switching intensity takes low values with a high finesse etalon compared to a high switching intensity with a low finesse etalon. So, the minimum switching power for a low finesse etalon is ⁓0.785mW, and is about 0.0785mW for a high finesse etalon. The driving term peak of a high finesse etalon becomes higher and the slowing down region becomes less, leading to a fast switching as compared with a slow switching in a low finesse etalon. So that, the minimum switching time was about 300ns for a low finesse etalon, and about 150ns for a high finesse etalon.

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In this research, analytical study for simulating a Fabry-Perot bistable etalon (F-P cavity) filled with a dispersive optimized nonlinear optical material (Kerr type) such as semiconductors Indium Antimonide (InSb). An optimization procedure using reflective (~85%) InSb etalon (~50µm) thick is described. For this etalon with a (50 µm) spot diameter beam, the minimum switching power is (~0.078 mW) and switching time is (~150 ns), leading to a switching energy of (~11.77 pJ) for this device. Also, the main role played by the temperature to change the etalon characteristic from nonlinear to linear dynamics.

Iraqi Journal of Physics•Jun 1, 2020•0 citations

InSb As A Material For Optical Computer Components

Dror Sarid, Ralph S. Jameson

InSb has been recognized in recent years as a very good material for nonlinear optical devices because of the extremely high nonlinear index of refraction near its band edge. It has proven valuable in investigating bistable optical etalon performance, and nonlinear processes in semiconductors. Numerous schemes for using bistable etalons as basic elements for optical logic and optical computing have been recently developed. Some considerations for using InSb as a material for developing optical bistable devices, and some design considerations for a method of applying bistable optical elements to array processing for do all optical computer are discussed.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Mar 4, 1986•0 citations
The switching dynamics of an InSb optically bistable etalon are analyzed in terms of effective time constants which change dramatically near the switch points. Results are presented which show nanosecond switching, critical slowing down, optical biomodality, and noise filtration. The influence of noise levels on both the switching dynamics and the system stability close to switching are discussed. The InSb-CO system has the merits of being extremely stable and reproducible so that the detailed switching dynamics and statistics can be reliably assessed. In addition, it may be regarded as a model system so that the results presented can be scaled with appropriate material time constants to other bistable systems.>
We report the first known direct observation of the critical slowing-down effect and transient bimodality in an intrinsic semiconductor all-optically bistable device with a cw CO laser holding beam and a PbSSe diode laser switching beam. The measurements of critical slow-down effects show good agreement with the numerical model using a modified Debye dynamic equation. The switching profile has been shown to depend on both the size of the hysteresis loop and the diode pulse parameter. A scaling law for the delay time of the switching when external parameter P changes close to the critical value Pc has been indicated to fit (P − Pc)−1/2.
In this work, analytical study for simulating a Fabry-Perot bistable etalon (F-P cavity) filled with a dispersive optimized nonlinear optical material (Kerr type) such as semiconductors Indium Antimonide (InSb). Because of a trade off between the etalon finesse values and driving terms, an optimization procedures have been done on the InSb etalon/CO laser parameters, using critical switching irradiance (Ic) via simulation systems of optimization procedures of optical cavity. in order to achieve the minimum switching power and faster switching time, the optimization parameters of the finesse values and driving terms on optical bistability and switching dynamics must be studied. In addition, for different values of a cavity finesse (for example, F = 25 and 2.37) the switching intensity takes low values with a high finesse etalon compared to a high switching intensity with a low finesse etalon. So, the minimum switching power for a low finesse etalon is ⁓0.785mW, and is about 0.0785mW for a high finesse etalon. The driving term peak of a high finesse etalon becomes higher and the slowing down region becomes less, leading to a fast switching as compared with a slow switching in a low finesse etalon. So that, the minimum switching time was about 300ns for a low finesse etalon, and about 150ns for a high finesse etalon.
The dependence of switching power upon input beam spot radius for an optically bistable InSb étalon has been measured. The results show that the irradiance required for switching increases as the spot radius is reduced. There is no evidence of any lower limit to the switching power, even for spot radii much less than the ambipolar diffusion length. Studies of the transmitted beam intensity profile in the near-field demonstrate the role of diffusion in our observations. The implications of our results for digital optical processing are briefly discussed.
In this research, analytical study for simulating a Fabry-Perot bistable etalon (F-P cavity) filled with a dispersive optimized nonlinear optical material (Kerr type) such as semiconductors Indium Antimonide (InSb). An optimization procedure using reflective (~85%) InSb etalon (~50µm) thick is described. For this etalon with a (50 µm) spot diameter beam, the minimum switching power is (~0.078 mW) and switching time is (~150 ns), leading to a switching energy of (~11.77 pJ) for this device. Also, the main role played by the temperature to change the etalon characteristic from nonlinear to linear dynamics.
InSb has been recognized in recent years as a very good material for nonlinear optical devices because of the extremely high nonlinear index of refraction near its band edge. It has proven valuable in investigating bistable optical etalon performance, and nonlinear processes in semiconductors. Numerous schemes for using bistable etalons as basic elements for optical logic and optical computing have been recently developed. Some considerations for using InSb as a material for developing optical bistable devices, and some design considerations for a method of applying bistable optical elements to array processing for do all optical computer are discussed.