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Topical Meeting on Optical Bistability (OB)

Optical Nonlinearity and Bistability due to the Biexciton Two-Photon Resonance in CuCI

Nasser N. Peyghambarian, Dror Sarid, H. M. Gibbs

Published Jan 1, 1983• 0 citations

Abstract

It is well established that biexcitons can be generated directly by two-photon absorption in CuCI. The intensity dependent nonlinearity arising from this resonance can be used to obtain optical bistability. Recently, Koch and Haug(1) and also Hanamura(2) have predicted the possibility of a bistable operation in a CuCI Fabry-Perot etalon. Hanamura uses a density matrix formalism and predicts that the switching can respond in a picosecond time scale due to the virtual formation of biexcitons. Koch and Haug obtain the complex dielectric function from a Green's function formalism and suggest a bistable behavior for a thin CuCI slab. They use a constant value for the biexciton linewidth, γxx, and a zero value for the exciton linewidth, γx. Their results indicate that a 1-μm-thick CuCI etalon, with natural reflecting surfaces, can give rise to bistability with a switch-on intensity of about 0.1 MW/cm2. The biexciton resonance, however, is located on the tail of the exciton resonance, which acts as a background absorption.

DOI: 10.1364/obi.1983.thb42

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•Jan 1, 1984•0 citations

It is well established that biexcitons can be generated directly by two-photon absorption in CuCI. The intensity dependent nonlinearity arising from this resonance can be used to obtain optical bistability. Recently, Koch and Haug(1) and also Hanamura(2) have predicted the possibility of a bistable operation in a CuCI Fabry-Perot etalon. Hanamura uses a density matrix formalism and predicts that the switching can respond in a picosecond time scale due to the virtual formation of biexcitons. Koch and Haug obtain the complex dielectric function from a Green's function formalism and suggest a bistable behavior for a thin CuCI slab. They use a constant value for the biexciton linewidth, γxx, and a zero value for the exciton linewidth, γx. Their results indicate that a 1-μm-thick CuCI etalon, with natural reflecting surfaces, can give rise to bistability with a switch-on intensity of about 0.1 MW/cm2. The biexciton resonance, however, is located on the tail of the exciton resonance, which acts as a background absorption.

Experimental evidence for the occurrence of optical bistability using the biexciton two-photon resonance in CuCl is presented. These observations agree with recent theoretical predictions that require an intensity of 10 MW/

{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}

and 10-\ensuremath{\mu}m-thick etalons with 90% reflective coatings. Earlier much less demanding predictions neglected two important physical effects: unsaturable background absorption at the biexciton from the tail of the exciton resonance and broadening of the biexciton resonance with intensity.

The absorption coefficient for the two-photon creation of biexciton is calculated for CuCl and wurtzite crystals. Because of the resonance effect only the intermediate lowest optically active excitonic states are taken into account. The absorption coefficient is expressed by a functional of the biexciton envelope. The numerical results are computed with the envelope function of Hylleraas-Ore type (modified and minimized by Brinkman et al). The obtained results for CuCI are in good agreement with absorption measurements published by Gale and Mysyrowicz.

The stationary solution for optical bistability (OB) using a semiclassical exciton-biexciton model of CuCl is calculated exactly in the limit of large Fresnel number. The numerical solution of the second-order Maxwell equation is compared with corresponding results obtained with use of the slowly-varying envelope approximation (SVEA) as well as the mean-field approximation (MFA). It is found that results obtained using the SVEA are in close quantitative agreement with the numerical solution of the second-order Maxwell equation for each point in the parameter space considered, whereas the MFA correspondingly gives good qualitative results only. Furthermore, it is shown that the nonlinearity in the dielectric function for exciton-biexciton CuCl which causes OB is very nearly of the Kerr-medium type, and consequently, the two-photon biexciton resonance contributes only weakly to the OB characteristics.

Two-photon optical bistability in commercial thin-film interference filters with ZnS and ZnSe spacers is observed with switching times ≳ 200 μs. The accompanying drifting of the bistability loop in time and laser-induced "damage" indicate a thermal mechanism. The problem of water vapor absorption in such filters must be addressed before the inherent potential and advantages of these devices in two-dimensional image processing applications can be realized. Trans- verse effects in GaAs superlattice etalons are observed which cannot be explained on the basis of a plane-wave analysis. The optical nonlinearity in GaAs and diffraction combine to produce drastic effects on the measured beam profiles and bistable loops, due to an intensity-dependent virtual focus. Lastly, the first observation of optical bistability due to a biexcitonic nonlinearity in CuCl etalons is reported with detector-limited switching times of 600 ps. In addition, lasing action along the pump axis in a cavity defined by the end mirrors is observed in a very thin (2.0 μm) CuCl etalon. The lasing transition is unique in that it involves the creation of a virtual excitation of biexcitons which decay to the longitudinal exciton state.