Optimization of a silicon-on-sapphire waveguide device for optical bistable operation

A silicon-on-sapphire waveguide is studied theoretically and experimentally in a pulsed regime to obtain bistable operation. Very fast switchings can be observed and are explained as a result of the competition between electronic and thermal nonlinear effects. Pseudobistable operation is demonstrated when the electronic effects are favored, owing to an increase in the silicon photogenerated electron–hole pair lifetime or to a reduction in the incident pulse duration. Other factors such as the grating-coupler efficiency and the sample thermalization can, likewise, improve the device operation.

[1]  K. Svantesson.  Determination of the interband and the free carrier absorption constants in silicon at high-level photoinjection , 1979 .

[2]  A. Koster,et al.  Gratings in nonlinear optics and optical bistability , 1985 .

[3]  G. M. Carter,et al.  Intensity‐dependent index of refraction in multilayers of polydiacetylene , 1983 .

[4]  G. Sonek,et al.  Nonlinear optical coupling to planar GaAs/AlGaAs waveguides , 1986, Topical Meeting on Integrated and Guided-Wave Optics.

[5]  W. Spitzer,et al.  Determination of Optical Constants and Carrier Effective Mass of Semiconductors , 1957 .

[6]  J. Mathew,et al.  Quasi-CW optical bistability in InSb at room temperature , 1986 .

[7]  Guy Vitrant,et al.  Demonstration of optical bistability with a nonlinear prism coupler , 1987 .

[8]  G. Stegeman,et al.  Demonstration of nonlinear prism coupling , 1984 .

[9]  S. M. Sze,et al.  Physics of semiconductor devices , 1969 .

[10]  Nasser N Peyghambarian,et al.  One-picosecond optical nor gate at room temperature with a GaAs-AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well nonlinear Fabry-Perot étalon , 1985 .

[11]  S D Smith,et al.  Optical bistability, photonic logic, and optical computation. , 1986, Applied optics.

[12]  Stanley D. Smith,et al.  The external switching of intrinsic optically bistable devices by incoherent illumination , 1985 .

[13]  Hans Joachim Eichler,et al.  Optical multistability in silicon observed with a cw laser at 1.06 μm , 1983 .

[14]  N. Paraire,et al.  Experimental and theoretical study of ultrafast optical switching using guided mode excitation in silicon on sapphire , 1987 .

[15]  George I. Stegeman,et al.  Power‐dependent coupling and fast switching in distributed coupling to ZnO waveguides , 1986 .

[16]  J. Bigot,et al.  Optical bistability due to biexcitons in CuCl , 1983 .

[17]  G. Stegeman,et al.  Nonlinear prism coupler , 1984 .