Optical bistability and multi-stability via voltage-controlled and the rate of incoherent pump in a quantum dot nanostructure

The optical bistability (OB) and optical multi-stability (OM) in a four-level quantum dot molecule are investigated. The effect of tunnel coupling and the rate of incoherent pump on OB are then discussed. It is found that the OB threshold can be controlled via tunnel coupling and the rate of incoherent pump. We demonstrate that the voltage-controlled detuning can significantly affect the behavior of OB and OM, therefore the OM converts to OB only by the rate of incoherent pump. The results obtained can be used for the development of new types of nanoelectronic devices for realizing switching process.