Nonlinear optical glasses for ultrafast optical switches

In this paper we report degenerate four-wave-mixing measurements of the nonlinear coefficient of rutile and a number of optical glasses at 1.06 μm. We define a figure of merit which measures the suitability of a material for nonlinear waveguide switches and show that the best glasses have figures of merit substantially higher than any other material. We include a brief discussion of the types of switching elements that could be made with these materials.