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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

InSb As A Material For Optical Computer Components

Dror Sarid, Ralph S. Jameson

Published Mar 4, 1986• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1117/12.949844

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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.
In this paper we present the basic principles of optical bistability and summarize the current advances in semiconductor optical switching, with emphasis on recent results in GaAs, CuCI, InAs, InSb, CdS, ZnS, and ZnSe etalons. These devices have great potential for applications involving optical signal processing and computing. As an example, we discuss the use of arrays of bistable devices for parallel optical processing and for addressable spatial light modulators. The use of nonlinear etalons as optical gates is also illustrated. To date, GaAs devices have shown the most favorable characteristics for practical applications. They operate at room temperature with a few milliwatts of power using a laser diode as the only light source. Quasi-cw operation and optical fiber signal regeneration have also been demonstrated. A GaAs NOR gate operates in 1 ps with <3 pJ incident energy; this, of course, implies a 1 ps switch-on time for a bistable etalon.
InSb has been shown to exhibit bistability and a very large nonlinear index.1 A semiconductor which is similiar, but which has a bandgap at shorter wavelengths is InAs. In this talk we present measurements of saturable absorption in InAs using an HF laser, which matches the bandgap of InAs at temperatures from 5° to 100° K. Using these measurements we have calculated a nonlinear refractive index of n2 = 2x10−5 cm2/W for light near but below the bandgap. These numbers are comparable to those measured in InSb and indicate that InAs may be a good material for bistable devices.
Gives a broad description of optical bistability: from practical applications, as an optical transistor or optical memory element, to its phase transition interpretation. The theory is divided into three parts. The first is a simple discussion that covers most of the basic experimental effects and concepts of practical importance. The second part applies to atomic system where a semiclassical as well as a quantum-mechanical approach is possible. The third one discusses the mechanisms compatible with large nonlinearities observed in InSb and GaAs as semiconductors constitute the most promising materials for applications. Current experimental progress in all-optical and hybrid devices is also discussed and scaling example is presented to indicate the possibilities in high-speed all-optical signal processing.
This dissertation presents the results of experimental research on the nonlinear refraction in InSb and the experimental demonstration of two nonlinear etalon devices using InSb as the active material. The first portion of the dissertation considers the Dynamic Burstein-Moss Shift model for nonlinearities in narrow-gap semiconductors. The physics and the equations are reviewed, and limitations in describing intensity dependent refraction in a semiconductor are considered. These limitations arise from the nonlinear dependence of charge carrier density upon irradiance. The second portion of the dissertation presents experimental measurements made on the nonlinear refraction of InSb at temperatures between 80 K and 182 K, for wavelengths from 5.75 μm to 6.10 μm, where the photon energy lay in the band tail below 100 cm⁻¹. Measurements of the linear absorption were first made with an infrared spectrometer for temperatures from 80 K to 300 K. The nonlinearity was measured by analyzing the transmission through InSb etalons. Nonlinear transmission curves were digitized and stored with an IBM PC-XT, then a curve fit was performed using the nonlinear refractive index as a fiting parameter. Observations are reported of increasing absorption, due in part to a thermal shift of the absorption edge. The second portion of the work presents the theory and demonstration of a bistable etalon using an edge-injected control beam. Plane-wave nonlinear etalon theory is used to describe the operation of such a device, illustrating the way in which switching and logic gate operation can be obtained. Two devices based on this concept are demonstrated: the 3-port device using a single control beam, and the 2SON gate using two control beams to perform two-input logic operation. The extension of the 2SON gate to an array of pixels, and some considerations for optimizing array performance, are considered. Two appendices follow the body of the dissertation, the first describing the preparation of the InSb etalon samples, and the second detailing several procedures for maintenance and operation of the CO laser used.
This article describes the application of one type of optical bistable device based on gallium arsenide as the nonlinear medium. The authors discuss several possible operations with GaAs nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalons. This article utilizes a recently developed computer model to illustrate the basic operating principles and applications. The authors mainly concentrate on the device operation itself. In keeping with common practice they use the term optical bistable device when referring to a device that can exhibit optical bistability even when not being used in such a manner. Instead of the expression nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon, they often use nonlinear etalons or etalon devices.
Intrinsic optical bistable devices have the potential for very fast all-optical logic.1 Achievement of high speeds necessitates short devices. Semiconductors are attractive materials for providing the essential optical nonlinearity because they can have absorption coefficients of order (μm)-1, ensuring strong interactions in short lengths. Furthermore, they have relatively sharp absorption features, e.g., an exciton, biexciton, or band-edge resonance, which permits very large nonlinear phase shifts via near-resonance enhancement but with low absorption by off-resonance operation.