Optical bistability of p-i-n and n-i-p-i structures at very low optical power

Peter Kiesel; Karlheinz H. Gulden; A. Hoefler; Michael Kneissl; Bernhard Knuepfer; Stefan U. Dankowski; Peter Riel; X. X. Wu; John Stephen Smith; Guenter Weimann; Gottfried H. Doehler

doi:10.1117/12.162754

19 November 1993 Optical bistability of p-i-n and n-i-p-i structures at very low optical power

Peter Kiesel, Karlheinz H. Gulden, A. Hoefler, Michael Kneissl, Bernhard Knuepfer, Stefan U. Dankowski, Peter Riel, X. X. Wu, John Stephen Smith, Guenter Weimann, Gottfried H. Doehler

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 1985, Physical Concepts and Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications II; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.162754
Event: Physical Concepts of Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications II, 1993, Trieste, Italy

Abstract

We report on opto-electrical and opto-optical bistability with high electrical/optical gain occurring at very low optical power. In p-i-n and n-i-p-i structures large field induced changes of the absorption coefficient up to 5000 cm^-1 can be observed due to the Franz- Keldysh effect. Slightly above the bandgap the absorption decreases with increasing internal field. This leads to n-shape current voltage characteristics which can be used for bistable opto- electrical switching. At an optical power smaller than 200 pW we achieve an on/off ratio of more than 10⁷ for switching the n-layer current corresponding to an opto-electrical gain of 6.8 (DOT) 10⁶. A smart pixel consisting of an electro-optical n-i-p-i modulator controlled by the bistable switch allows the observation of opto-optical bistability. With our smart pixel concept we have achieved an opto-optical gain of up to 3 (DOT) 10⁵. This bistable switching is observed at extremely low switching powers smaller than 500 pW and exhibits a very broad hysteresis width of 200 pW. The minimum switching power is only limited by the dark current of the switch and can be reduced further.

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Peter Kiesel, Karlheinz H. Gulden, A. Hoefler, Michael Kneissl, Bernhard Knuepfer, Stefan U. Dankowski, Peter Riel, X. X. Wu, John Stephen Smith, Guenter Weimann, and Gottfried H. Doehler "Optical bistability of p-i-n and n-i-p-i structures at very low optical power", Proc. SPIE 1985, Physical Concepts and Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications II, (19 November 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.162754

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