Title :
Submilliwatt optical bistability in wafer fused vertical cavity at 1.55-μm wavelength
Author :
Jeannes, F. ; Patriarche, G. ; Azoulay, R. ; Ougazzaden, A. ; Landreau, J. ; Oudar, J.L.
Author_Institution :
Lab. de Bagneux, CNET, Bagneux, France
fDate :
4/1/1996 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We report on low-power optical bistability in a vertical cavity structure at 1.55-μm wavelength due to the bandgap resonant dispersive optical nonlinearity of InGaAsP. In this structure, a GaAs-AlAs Bragg reflector grown on GaAs and the nonlinear medium grown on InP are bonded through wafer-fusion, leading to a high-quality vertical cavity after deposition of a top dielectric mirror. This device shows interesting characteristics for optical switching applications at fiber communication wavelengths, such as a switching contrast higher than 8:1 in the reflective mode and a bistability threshold power as low as 0.6 mW. True steady-state memory effect is observed with continuous-wave input, and the device switching time is in the ns range.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; gallium arsenide; gallium compounds; indium compounds; integrated optoelectronics; laser cavity resonators; laser mirrors; optical bistability; optical switches; optical transmitters; semiconductor lasers; 0.6 mW; 1.55 mum; GaAs-AlAs; GaAs-AlAs Bragg reflector; InGaAsP; InGaAsP-InP; InP; bandgap resonant dispersive optical nonlinearity; bistability threshold power; continuous-wave input; device switching time; dielectric mirror; fiber communication wavelength; nanosecond range; nonlinear medium; optical switching applications; reflective mode; steady-state memory effect; submilliwatt optical bistability; switching contrast; vertical cavity structure; wafer fused vertical cavity; Communication switching; Dispersion; Fiber nonlinear optics; Gallium arsenide; Indium phosphide; Nonlinear optical devices; Nonlinear optics; Optical bistability; Photonic band gap; Resonance;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
