Optical Bistability in an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter (AOTF) Operating with Short Optical Pulses

Karlo David Alves Sabóia,Alex Sander Barros Queiroz,Cícero Saraiva Sobrinho,Jose Wally Mendonça Menezes,Francisco Tiago Lima,Antonio Sergio Bezerra Sombra

doi:10.4236/jemaa.2012.43015

Karlo David Alves Sabóia, Alex Sander Barros Queiroz + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.4236/jemaa.2012.43015

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Abstract

In this paper we report for the first time the presence of bistability in an acoustic-optic tunable filter (AOTF) operating with ultrashort (2 ps) optical light pulses. The results for the study of bistability has shown the dependence of the hysteresis curve with the product of the coupling constant (κ) by the length of the device (ξL) and the conversion power-coupling constant factor (G). The range of bistability varies significantly with both G and with κξL parameters. The variation of κξL directly increases the size of the range of bistability hysteresis while the increase in G causes the bistability to occur at low powers. The phenomenon of optical bistability (OB) is the object of increasing interest due to its possibilities for important device applications. A bistable device is a device with a capability to generate two different outputs for a given input and the physical requirements for this are an intensity-dependence refractive index and an optical feedback mechanism.

Highlights

The physical requirements for optical bistability (OB) are an intensity-dependence refractive index and an optical feedback mechanism [1]
In this paper we report for the first time the presence of bistability in an acoustic-optic tunable filter (AOTF) operating with ultrashort (2 ps) optical light pulses
The results for the study of bistability has shown the dependence of the hysteresis curve with the product of the coupling constant (κ) by the length of the device and the conversion power-coupling constant factor (G)

Summary

Introduction

The physical requirements for optical bistability (OB) are an intensity-dependence refractive index and an optical feedback mechanism [1]. A system is said to be optically bistable if it can exhibit two steady output states for the same input intensity over some range of input values. The switching up and down operations typical in a hysteresis cycle originates from the rise of instability. A physical state is said to be unstable when, after displaying the system a little from this steady point, the system does not return to it and goes further from it. The searches for instabilities turn out to be crucial in the study of OB phenomena from the theoretical viewpoint and for the possibilities for practical and technological applications

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