Ultrafast all-optical modulation in GaAs photonic crystal cavities

Abstract

We demonstrate all-optical modulation based on ultrafast optical carrier injection in a GaAs photonic crystal cavity using a degenerate pump-probe technique. The observations agree well with a coupled-mode model incorporating all relevant nonlinearities. The low switching energy (∼120 fJ), small energy absorption (∼10 fJ), fast on-off response (∼15 ps), limited only by carrier lifetime, and a minimum 10 dB modulation depth suggest practical all-optical switching applications at high repetition rates.

Energy-bandwidth trade-off in all-optical photonic crystal microcavity switches

“…All-optical switching has been demonstrated using many different platforms and materials such as silicon waveguides [2] and micro rings [3], PhC cavities [4,5] and Mach-Zender interferometers [6], semiconductor optical amplifiers [7], and parametric processes in fibers [8]. In many cases, these demonstrations only consider switching of a single pulse.…”

Demonstration of Optically Controlled re-Routing in a Photonic Crystal Three-Port Switch

“…Coupled cavity-waveguide systems provide enhanced non-linear light-matter interaction and small footprint, which are essential for efficient optical integration. Previous work has demonstrated on/off operation in which a control pulse is used to determine the state of the switch [2,3].…”

Theory of electro-optic modulation via a quantum dot coupled to a nano-resonator

“…In these networks, modulators play an essential role in sending and routing information. Most of the micron-scale modulators fabricated so far are based on either classical effects or collective quantum effects [8][9][10]. However, a few papers recently published [11,12] show that a single quantum emitter can be deterministically used to control the transmission of a beam of light.…”