Abstract
We measure the nonlinear index, n2, and two-photon absorption coefficient, β, for both bulk AlGaAs and AlGaAs/GaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) waveguides near half-gap and obtain favorable figures of merit. In addition, using time-resolved pump-probe measurements, we observe for the first time cross-Raman gain at frequencies less than 30 cm−1. A rule of thumb for all-optical switching and quantum optics applications is that a π-phase shift must be obtained with less than 3 dB of absorption, which means that the figure of merit Fm = (2n2/βλ) must be larger than one.1 Although we measure an n2 up to 1.7 times larger in the MQW, we obtain nearly the same value for the figure of merit Fm = 13 in both the bulk material and the MQW because of increased two-photon absorption.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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