Abstract

The epitaxial growth of GaAs/GaAlAs structures allows the fabrication of monolithic bistable devices with very appealing characteristics for all-optical applications, such as low threshold power and good thermal stability[1,2]. These devices rely upon the excitonic and band-gap resonant dispersive non linearities of bulk GaAs or multiple quantum wells (MQW)[3,4], which can produce a substantial phase shift over interaction lengths as small as a few micrometers. This results in very compact devices, especially when the mirrors are integrated in the form of AlAs/AlGaAs Bragg reflectors grown during the same epitaxial process[5]. Additional advantages of such Bragg reflectors are that they improve the mirror/active layer interface quality and facilitate thermal dissipation, as these materials have a good thermal conductivity. The recent report of laser emission on optically- or electrically-pumped similar structures seems to be the starting point of a generic type of complementary devices that could share the same basic technology.

© 1991 Optical Society of America