Abstract

We have observed fast optical switching in an InGaAsP/InP Fabry-Perot optical amplifier with as low as one microwatt of optical input power.¹ Detector-limited switching times of about 3 ns are observed, indicating actual times of less than a nanosecond (Fig. 1). The switching energy of one femtojoule corresponds to less than 7000 input photons at 1.3 μm wavelength. For a 5 Ohm device with a typical threshold current of 20 mA and a switching time of a nanosecond, 20 pJ of electrical energy is expended to switch the device. The extremely low optical switching energy of these devices suggests the potential for extremely high data throughput using two-dimensional arrays of similar devices for parallel processing. The optical switching energies of these devices are more than three orders of magnitude lower than any previously reported. Moreover, gain in these amplifiers offers the important potential for cascadability.

© 1985 Optical Society of America