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Optical bistable switching with Kerr nonlinear materials exhibiting a finite response time in two-dimensional photonic crystals

Naqavi, A ; Sharif University of Technology

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1117/12.854620
  3. Abstract:
  4. Effect of relaxation time on the performance of photonic crystal optical bistable switches based on Kerr nolinearity is discussed. This paper deals with optical pulses with the duration of about 50 ps. In such cases the steady state response of the optical device can be used to approximate the pulse evolution if the nonlinearity is assumed instantaneous, hence analytical solutions such as the coupled mode theory can be used to obtain the time evolution of the electromagnetic fields. However if the relaxation time of the material nonlinear response is also considered, changes in the power levels and in the shape of the hystersis loop is observed. In this case, we use the nonlinear finite difference time domain method (NL-FDTD) to follow the system dynamics and get the bistability hystersis loop. Codes are developed to analyze the instantaneous Kerr materials and the Kerr materials with finite response times. Depending on the material, the relaxation times of the order of 1-10fs should be considered in studying bistability to obtain the right shape of the output pulses. It is observed that the relaxation leads to larger input power and threshold and hence degrades the performance of the switch in pulse shaping
  5. Keywords:
  6. Optical bistability ; Analytical solutions ; Bi-stability ; Bistable switches ; Coupled mode theory ; Hystersis loop ; Input power ; Kerr materials ; Kerr-nonlinear materials ; Material nonlinear ; Non-linearity ; Nonlinear finite difference ; Optical bistable switching ; Optical pulse ; Optical switching ; Output pulse ; Photonics crystals ; Power levels ; Pulse evolution ; Pulse-shaping ; Response time ; Steady-state response ; System dynamics ; Time evolutions ; Two-dimensional photonic crystals ; Electromagnetic fields ; Finite difference time domain method ; Nonlinear optics ; Optical instruments ; Optical kerr effect ; Optical materials ; Optical switches ; Photonic devices ; Relaxation time ; Time switches ; Photonic crystals
  7. Source: Volume 7713 ; Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 12 April 2010 through 15 April 2010 , 2010 ; 0277786X (ISSN) ; 9780819481863 (ISBN)
  8. URL: http://spie.org/Publications/Proceedings/Paper/10.1117/12.854620