Abstract

Dispersive bistability arising from the carrier-dependence of the refractive index has been observed in semiconductor lasers operated just below threshold with a small injected optical signal. The minimum optical input required for switch-up is as low as 1 μW for InGaAsP amplifiers at 1.55 μm⁽¹⁾ and 1.3 μm⁽²⁾ (cf 30 μW for GaAs devices⁽³⁾). As yet, reliable measurements of the dynamic response are not ⁽⁴⁾ available, although we predict recovery times to be on the order of carrier lifetimes, ie a few nanoseconds at room temperature. This contribution will review our experimental and theoretical work on 1.55 μm amplifier bistability and set it in the context of other semiconductor bistable optical devices.

© 1985 Optical Society of America