DocumentCode :
864802
Title :
Silicon-Nanocrystal-Coated Silica Microsphere Thermooptical Switch
Author :
Tewary, Anuranjita ; Digonnet, Michel J F ; Sung, Joo-Yeon ; Shin, Jung H. ; Brongersma, Mark L.
Author_Institution :
Geballe Lab. for Adv. Mater., Stanford Univ., CA
Volume :
12
Issue :
6
fYear :
2006
Firstpage :
1476
Lastpage :
1479
Abstract :
We report on a low-switching-energy, all-optical fiber switch that consists of a silica microsphere resonator coated with a silica layer containing silicon nanocrystals. A signal at 1450 nm and a pump at 488 nm are coupled into the microsphere through a tapered fiber. When a pump pulse is launched into the sphere, it is absorbed by the nanocrystal layer, causing the sphere to heat up and change its refractive index. The index change can be exploited to switch the signal by shifting the microsphere resonance. A resonance wavelength shift of 5 pm, sufficient to fully switch the signal, was observed with a pump pulse energy of only 85 nJ. The rise time of the switch was ~25 ms (limited by the pump peak power) and its fall time was ~30 ms (limited by the sphere´s thermal time constant). The product of the switching peak power (3.4 mu W) and the device´s characteristic dimension (a diameter of 150 mum) is 5.1times10-10 Wm, one of the lowest values reported for an all-optical fiber switch
Keywords :
micro-optics; microcavities; nanostructured materials; optical fibres; optical resonators; optical switches; refractive index; silicon; silicon compounds; spectral line shift; thermo-optical devices; 1450 nm; 150 mum; 25 ms; 3.4 muW; 30 ms; 488 nm; 85 nJ; Si; SiO2; all-optical fiber switch; optical pump; refractive index; resonance wavelength shift; silica microsphere; silicon nanocrystal coating; tapered fiber; thermooptical switch; Communication switching; Delay; Optical fiber LAN; Optical fiber communication; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fiber testing; Resonance; Silicon compounds; Switches; Microsphere; optical resonator; optical switch; silicon nanocrystals;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
1077-260X
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/JSTQE.2006.885389
Filename :
4032704
Link To Document :
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