Abstract
We report the observation of two photon absorption which is strongly dependent on the applied electric field and the optical polarization. At 1.55 μm wavelength, the two-photon absorption coefficient of the GaAs/AlGaAs multiquantum well (MQW) waveguides for transverse-magnetic light is about seven times lower than for transverse-electric polarized light and changes by a factor of approximately 4 for a change in applied direct-current electric field of ∼140 kV/cm. Ultrafast nonlinear refraction causing phase changes of over π radians without appreciable excess loss is observed. These measurements demonstrate that GaAs/AlGaAs MQW waveguides could be successfully used for subpicosecond all-optical switching near half-band gap, at wavelengths corresponding to the 1.55 μm optical communications band.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3440-3442 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
Volume | 59 |
Issue number | 26 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 1991 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)