Abstract

The self focusing of laser beams in photorefractive (PR) materials offers interesting possibilities for waveguide inscription. However, the PR materials typically used in such applications (SBN, LiNbO₃, BTO, etc) have long response times, ranging from seconds to minutes. Recently, we have proved that it is possible to create a waveguide in short times (few microseconds) for relatively low powers (10 W/cm²) by using the iron doped indium phosphide (InP:Fe) semiconductor as a material of choice[1]. This opens new opportunities for applications that require fast response times, such as all-optical switching. We must note that the PR self focusing in semiconductors is not yet fully understood. Previous models and interpretations are dealing with the steady state only [2] or are not fully explaining the experimental results reported in the literature [1-3].

© 2009 IEEE