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Low-Threshold Optical Switching in Non-uniform Nonlinear Distributed Feedback Structures

Stojan Radic, Nicholas George, and Govind Agrawal, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.

Photonic band structure of a nonlinear distributed feedback (DFB) device can be altered by increasing the intensity of the input light. Local changes in refractive index of the DFB structure lead to a variety of all-optical effects including switching, multistability, low-velocity energy transfer, pulse generation, and pulse shaping. However, a strictly periodic nonlinear DFB (NLDFB) must be operated at prohibitively high intensity levels, requiring both high-power sources and low-absorption nonlinear materials.