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Annales de Physique

Design and Investigation of a Nonlinear Fabry-Perot Device with Gaas Spacer Layer

B. Acklin, C. Bagnoud, M.‐A. Dupertuis

Published Jan 1, 1991• 1 citation
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Abstract

A bistable etalon, consisting of an optically nonlinear semiconductor spacer layer sandwiched between two Bragg mirrors, has been optimized for use in reflection, using a numerical model for a self-consistent carrier density based on published experimental data for the nonlinear absorption alpha(I,lambda) and refraction DELTA-n(I,lambda). The saturation behavior of the refractive index and the absorption in bulk GaAs has been investigated at different wavelengths. High saturation values of DELTA-n(s) almost-equal-to .080 were found 20 meV below the gap. 30 meV above the gap we observed a comparable index change, together with an absorption saturation feature, leading to a highly nonlinear response close to the bistability threshold in our unoptimized etalon.

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A bistable etalon, consisting of an optically nonlinear semiconductor spacer layer sandwiched between two Bragg mirrors, has been optimized for use in reflection, using a numerical model for a self-consistent carrier density based on published experimental data for the nonlinear absorption alpha(I,lambda) and refraction DELTA-n(I,lambda). The saturation behavior of the refractive index and the absorption in bulk GaAs has been investigated at different wavelengths. High saturation values of DELTA-n(s) almost-equal-to .080 were found 20 meV below the gap. 30 meV above the gap we observed a comparable index change, together with an absorption saturation feature, leading to a highly nonlinear response close to the bistability threshold in our unoptimized etalon.
Nonlinear refractive-index changes in GaAs are obtained at room temperature by measuring shifts of Fabry-Perot (F.P.) transmission. The 299-Å multiple-quantum-well GaAs sample was sandwiched between two dielectric mirrors (90% reflectivity) to form a F.P. etalon (finesse =10). The pump beam was tuned to 821 nm and modulated to obtain 1-μs pulses at 10 kHz. The photoluminescence from a focused pump spot at the GaAs etalon was used as a broadband probe source. Since the photoluminescence is due to carriers generated by a pump beam, the pump and probe beams automatically align themselves. The fast electronic nonlinearity exhibited blue shifts (negative index changes) of the F.P. transmission peaks, while the slow thermal nonlinearity showed red shifts (positive index changes). Nonlinear index changes were calculated from the measured shifts of the F.P. peaks for different pump intensities. A self-consistent F.P. phase function for this calculation was obtained assuming lengths of 2.9 and 1.5 μm for the GaAs and air gap, respectively. Optical bistability was most easily observed for the region of large index change (873-878 nm). The slow nonlinear index changes below the band gap showed nonresonant characteristics rather than resonant, saturable behavior.
A theoretical demonstration of optical bistability in periodic layered media, particularly in long-period GaAs/AlAs superlattices is presented. The proposed structure consists of a periodic multilayer system, as opposed to previously demonstrated nonlinear bistable devices which employed Fabry-Perot etalons. The optical resonance effect which is essential for bistable devices is, in this case, induced by a refractive index modulation. The nonlinear active medium is distributed in the whole structure rather than placed between the two mirrors of a Fabry-Perot cavity. It is shown by a complete calculation of wave propagation in the periodic nonlinear medium that a multiple valued feature appears in the structure's nonlinear reflectivity spectrum. The input/output characteristics of the structure exhibit bistable hysteresis similar to that of a nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon.>
Optical bistability has been observed in a semiconductor for the first time. The bistable etalon consists of a GaAlAs-GaAs-GaAlAs molecular-beam-epitaxially-grown sandwich with 90% reflectivity coatings. The bistability is primarily dispersive with the nonlinear refractive index arising from light-induced changes in exciton absorption. Using light of frequency just below the exciton peak, we observed bistability from 5 to 120 °K with 40-ns turn-off and subnanosecond turn-on times with 1 mW/μm2 holding intensity.
A nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon fabricated entirely by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) when operated as a pump-probe optical logic gate1 has shown 5:1 contrast with <20 pJ incident. The device should be especially well suited for optical bistability.2 However, this mode of operation has not yet been tried. The design consists of ten pairs of quarterwave thickness AlAs and GaAs layers grown on a GaAs substrate followed by a ~2-μm GaAs spacer layer and seven more quarterwave pairs. The mirrors formed by the quarter-wave stacks both have ~90% reflectivity. Fewer layers are needed on the second grown mirror due to the higher intrinsic reflectivity at the GaAs-air interface compared with that on the substrate side. The GaAs spacer was intentionally wedged to provide tunability of the transmission peak. The substrate in its present form is unsulted for transmitting either the pump or probe beams, so we used the reflected probe signal as the output.
Optical bistability can be obtained in nonlinear materials either with Fabry-Perot mirrors or without external feedback. When a material is placed between partially reflecting mirrors, a nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon is formed with the etalon providing an external feedback. Optical bistability and gating occur as a result of a shift in the Fabry-Perot peak when the light intensity is increased (or when a second laser beam is introduced into the cavity). Optical bistability with the external feedback mechanism has been observed in many semiconductors such as bulk GaAs, GaAs-AIGaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) structures, InSb, InAs, CdS, CdHgTe, GaSe, and CuCI.