Detailed Design and Characterization of All-Optical Switches Based on InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots in a Vertical Cavity

作者：Jin Chao Yuan^*; Kojima Osamu; Inoue Tomoya; Kita Takashi; Wada Osamu; Hopkinson Mark; Akahane Kouichi

来源：IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, 2010, 46(11): 1582-1589.

DOI：10.1109/JQE.2010.2053916

• All-optical switch
• quantum dots (QDs)
• ultrafast photonics
• vertical cavity

We propose an all-optical switch based on self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) within a vertical cavity. Two essential aspects of this novel device have been investigated, which includes the QD/cavity nonlinearity with appropriately designed mirrors and the intersubband carrier dynamics inside QDs. Vertical-reflection-type switches have been fabricated with an asymmetric cavity that consists of 12 periods of GaAs/Al(0.8)Ga(0.2)As for the front mirror and 25 periods for the back mirror. All-optical switching via the QD excited states has been achieved with a time constant down to 23 ps, wavelength tunability over 30 nm, and ultralow power consumption less than 1 fJ/mu m(2). These results demonstrate that QDs within a vertical cavity have great advantages to realize low-power-consumption polarization-insensitive micrometer-sized switching devices for the future optical communication and signal processing systems.

• 出版日期2010-11