Scalable Electro-Optic Control of Localized Bistable Switching in Broad-Area VCSELs Using Reconfigurable Funnel Waveguides

Abstract

A basic challenge in photonics is to reproduce the key functions of electronics, while adding the parallelism and simplified circuitry of optics. One major hurdle is the lack of a generic, diode-like optical element. To address this difficulty, the authors offer proof of principle for a miniaturized optical device capable of being only ``on'' or ``off''. Combining photoinduced optical circuitry in quadratic electro-optic crystals with localized structures in broad-area semiconductor cavities, they create a possible building block for future digital optics.