Ultrafast spin relaxation in quantum-confined structures for all-optical switching

Osamu Wada; Atsushi Tackeuchi; Yuji Nishikawa; Tetsuya Nishimura

doi:10.1117/12.316711

7 July 1998 Ultrafast spin relaxation in quantum-confined structures for all-optical switching

Osamu Wada, Atsushi Tackeuchi, Yuji Nishikawa, Tetsuya Nishimura

Proceedings Volume 3283, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices VI; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.316711
Event: Optoelectronics and High-Power Lasers and Applications, 1998, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Electron-spin relaxation has been investigated in a variety of quantum confined structures including GaAs-based quantum wells and quantum wires as well as InP-based quantum wells, and it has been shown to exhibit ultrafast relaxation in the picosecond, and even in the femtosecond, range. This ultrafast relaxation has been used together with the exciton absorption nonlinearity as an novel principle of all-optical switching device which can avoid the speed limit due to the slow carrier lifetime in conventional switching devices. Experiments on GaAs-based quantum-well spin switches have shown 4-ps gate switch operation. Also, experimental analyses have shown the feasibility of these devices at a high contrast ratio (13 dB) and high repetition rate (40 GHz). The application of this device to a demultiplexer has been proposed.

Citation Download Citation

Osamu Wada, Atsushi Tackeuchi, Yuji Nishikawa, and Tetsuya Nishimura "Ultrafast spin relaxation in quantum-confined structures for all-optical switching", Proc. SPIE 3283, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices VI, (7 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.316711

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