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Topical Meeting on Optical Bistability (OB)

Nonlinearities at the Bandgap in InAs

CRAIG D. POOLE, E. Garmire

Published Jan 1, 1983• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1364/obi.1983.tha3

Related papers

Bandgap resonant optical nonlinearities in InAs and their use in optical bistability

CRAIG D. POOLE, E. Garmire

A detailed study of bandgap resonant optical nonlinearities in n-type InAs and their use in an optical bistable device is presented. The results of measurements of both nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction taken with an HF laser show good agreement with a band-filling model in which the contribution from the light-hole band and the effects of large initial free carrier densities are included. Evidence of the saturation of the nonlinear refraction through the carrier-density-dependent recombination rate is presented, and it is shown that this effect together with diffraction effects accounts for the critical power for bistability observed in the reflected signal from an InAs etalon at 77 K.

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Reflective optical bistability at 3 mW in InAs

CRAIG D. POOLE, E. Garmire

Optical bistability using the large nonlinear index at the band gap of semiconductors has been demonstrated in InSb and GaAs.1,2 We present here bistability in InAs at a wavelength of 3μm, which lies between that of the other reported semiconductors. The 3-μm line of the HF laser was used which closely matches the band gap at 77 K. We also will report on experiments in progress to observe bistability at room temperature with the DF laser.

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We report the realisation of optically bistable switching and memory elements, and the transphasor Can all-optical transistor) in simple one element nonlinear Fabry-Perot interferometers made from the semiconductor InSb. These devices, which operate at 5 K and 77 K with mW powers from a cw CO laser between 5 and 6 μm rely on a strongly intensity-dependent refractive index discovered near the bandgap region of InSb and explained by bandgap resonant saturation. Switching speeds are shown to be < 500 ns in these first devices and operation to much shorter timescales is predicted. Operation at room temperature and in other semiconductors at other wavelengths remains a possibility and such devices offer considerable potential for all-optical switching in integrated optics and laser pulse control.

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InSb As A Material For Optical Computer Components

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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.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Mar 4, 1986•0 citations

Bistability experimentally observed at three milliwatts in indium arsenide and theoretically predicted for a new class of nonlinear dielectrics

E. Garmire, CRAIG D. POOLE, J. A. Goldstone

Abstract The results of an experimental investigation ol nonlinearities and bistability at the band gap in InAs are presented. Bistability was observed in reflection at 3 mW with a HF laser by using the large nonlinearity at the band-gap resonance in InAs. The measured nonlinear refractive index is shown quantitatively to agree with the dynamic Burstein—Moss shift as the mechanism, as long as both the full Fermi-Dirac statistics and the effect of light holes are included in the calculation. In a separate study a theoretical analysis has investigated general conditions for intrinsic bistability without cavities. It is shown that bistability can result from a nonlinear constitutive relation. Specific calculations are presented for bistability due to nonlinear polarization.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series A Mathematical and Physical Sciences•Dec 18, 1984•4 citations

Optically bistable devices using semiconductor materials

Stanley Desmond Smith, Michael E. Prise, C. T. Seaton +2 more

This report covers work conducted from February 1982 to February 1983 on the nonlinear optical properties of semiconductors using tunable (bandgap resonant) laser sources. Emphasis is on Carbon Monoxide (CO) Indium Antimonides (InSb) at 77K, but an optical parametric amplifier is constructed for future work on systems at shorter wavelengths. The Optical Bistability and device properties of InSb have been investigated. Operation of a slice of InSb, held at 77K, pumped by a continuous wave CO laser, as an optical AND gate, triggered by 30 ps pulses at wavelength 1.06 micron with energies of 5 nJ, is demonstrated. By using temporal separation of the trigger pulses, information on the carrier dynamics is obtained. The design and construction of an angle tuned Optical Parametric Amplifier consisting of a lithium niobate crystal pumped by a 30 ps pulse from a neodymium YAG laser has been achieved.

Final Technical Report•Nov 1, 1984•0 citations
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.
A detailed study of bandgap resonant optical nonlinearities in n-type InAs and their use in an optical bistable device is presented. The results of measurements of both nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction taken with an HF laser show good agreement with a band-filling model in which the contribution from the light-hole band and the effects of large initial free carrier densities are included. Evidence of the saturation of the nonlinear refraction through the carrier-density-dependent recombination rate is presented, and it is shown that this effect together with diffraction effects accounts for the critical power for bistability observed in the reflected signal from an InAs etalon at 77 K.
We report the realisation of optically bistable switching and memory elements, and the transphasor Can all-optical transistor) in simple one element nonlinear Fabry-Perot interferometers made from the semiconductor InSb. These devices, which operate at 5 K and 77 K with mW powers from a cw CO laser between 5 and 6 μm rely on a strongly intensity-dependent refractive index discovered near the bandgap region of InSb and explained by bandgap resonant saturation. Switching speeds are shown to be < 500 ns in these first devices and operation to much shorter timescales is predicted. Operation at room temperature and in other semiconductors at other wavelengths remains a possibility and such devices offer considerable potential for all-optical switching in integrated optics and laser pulse control.
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.
Abstract The results of an experimental investigation ol nonlinearities and bistability at the band gap in InAs are presented. Bistability was observed in reflection at 3 mW with a HF laser by using the large nonlinearity at the band-gap resonance in InAs. The measured nonlinear refractive index is shown quantitatively to agree with the dynamic Burstein—Moss shift as the mechanism, as long as both the full Fermi-Dirac statistics and the effect of light holes are included in the calculation. In a separate study a theoretical analysis has investigated general conditions for intrinsic bistability without cavities. It is shown that bistability can result from a nonlinear constitutive relation. Specific calculations are presented for bistability due to nonlinear polarization.
This report covers work conducted from February 1982 to February 1983 on the nonlinear optical properties of semiconductors using tunable (bandgap resonant) laser sources. Emphasis is on Carbon Monoxide (CO) Indium Antimonides (InSb) at 77K, but an optical parametric amplifier is constructed for future work on systems at shorter wavelengths. The Optical Bistability and device properties of InSb have been investigated. Operation of a slice of InSb, held at 77K, pumped by a continuous wave CO laser, as an optical AND gate, triggered by 30 ps pulses at wavelength 1.06 micron with energies of 5 nJ, is demonstrated. By using temporal separation of the trigger pulses, information on the carrier dynamics is obtained. The design and construction of an angle tuned Optical Parametric Amplifier consisting of a lithium niobate crystal pumped by a 30 ps pulse from a neodymium YAG laser has been achieved.