Abstract

The investigation of noise induced switching processes in bistable systems is a field of active research [1] due to the omnipresence of noise in real systems. In this paper we extend the research on the influence of noise on the self oscillations of a hybrid ring resonator containing an optically nonlinear or even bistable element. The optically nonlinear element is a ZnSe interference filter showing thermally induced nonlinear refraction [2], The quasistatic input-output characteristics (IOC) of the filter in reflection and transmission depend on the initial detuning of the Fabry-Perot and by changing this parameter it is possible to obtain bistable as well as monostable but strongly nonlinear behaviour. This element is incorporated in reflection mode into a ring resonator with long round trip time compared to the thermal relaxation time of the nonlinearity. The resonator is a hybrid one consisting of a photodiode transforming the light intensity reflected by the filter into a voltage signal which is delayed electronically and fed back to an electro optical modulator controlling the light falling onto the sample.

© 1992 Optical Society of America