Self-assembled InAs quantum dots within a vertical cavity structure for all-optical switching devices

C. Y. Jin; O. Kojima; T. Inoue; T. Kita; O. Wada; M. Hopkinson; K. Akahane

doi:10.1117/12.846621

15 February 2010 Self-assembled InAs quantum dots within a vertical cavity structure for all-optical switching devices

C. Y. Jin, O. Kojima, T. Inoue, T. Kita, O. Wada, M. Hopkinson, K. Akahane

Proceedings Volume 7610, Quantum Dots and Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Modeling VII; 76100Q (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.846621
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2010, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

An all-optical switching device has been proposed by using self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) within a vertical cavity structure for ultrafast optical communications. This device has several desirable properties, such as the ultra-low power consumption, the micrometre size, and the polarization insensitive operation. Due to the threedimensional confined carrier state and the broad size distribution of self-assembled InAs/GaAs QDs, it is crucial to enhance the interaction between QDs and the cavity with appropriately designed 1D periodic structure. Significant QD/cavity nonlinearity is theoretically observed by increasing the GaAs/AlAs pair number of the bottom mirror. By this consideration, we have fabricated vertical-reflection type QD switches with 12 periods of GaAs/Al_0.8Ga_0.2As for the top mirror and 25 periods for the bottom mirror to give an asymmetric vertical cavity. Optical switching via the QD excited state exhibits a fast switching process with a time constant down to 23 ps, confirming that the fast intersubband relaxation of carriers inside QDs is an effective means to speed up the switching process. A technique by changing the light incident angle realizes wavelength tunability over 30 nm for the QD/cavity switch.

Citation Download Citation

C. Y. Jin, O. Kojima, T. Inoue, T. Kita, O. Wada, M. Hopkinson, and K. Akahane "Self-assembled InAs quantum dots within a vertical cavity structure for all-optical switching devices", Proc. SPIE 7610, Quantum Dots and Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Modeling VII, 76100Q (15 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.846621

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