Abstract
By measuring spectral changes associated with self-phase-modulation, we study the instantaneous nonlinear index below the two-photon absorption edge in Al0.2Ga0.8As waveguides. We find the nonlinear index to be n2~3×10−14cm2/W and the material to be isotropic (i.e. cross-phase-modulation coefficient is 2/3 of self-phase-modulation). We can obtain a 2π phase shift with less than 15% nonlinear absorption, and we find that the nonlinear absorption results primarily from three-photon processes. Our results indicate that AlGaAs waveguides, which have a mature fabrication technology, can be used as compact nonlinear elements in switching and quantum optics applications in the near infrared. Further optimization of the waveguide geometry should result in useful nonlinear phase shifts and low losses for pulse energies approaching a picojoule.
© 1991 Optical Society of America
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