Transverse optical patterns for ultra‐low‐light‐level all‐optical switching

Abstract

AbstractWe review recent theoretical and experimental efforts toward developing an all‐optical switch based on transverse optical patterns. Transverse optical patterns are formed when counterpropagating laser beams interact with a nonlinear medium. A perturbation, in the form of a weak switch beam injected into the nonlinear medium, controls the orientation of the generated patterns. Each state of the pattern orientation is associated with a state of the switch. That is, information is stored in the orientation state. A realization of this switch using a warm rubidium vapor shows that it can be actuated by as few as 600 ± 40 photons with a response time of 5 µs. Models of nonlinear optical interactions in semiconductor quantum wells and microresonators suggest these systems are also suitable for use as fast all‐optical switches using this same conceptual design, albeit at higher switching powers.