Ultrafast optical switching with CdTe nanocrystals in a glass matrix

Abstract

This letter describes a principle demonstration of an ultrafast optical switch operating at 1Tbit∕s using CdTe-quantum-dots-doped glasses. Using a three-beam pump and probe experiment, we showed that thermal effects are responsible for a baseline in the pump and probe graphs and the nonexistence of carrier accumulation effects. After eliminating the thermal effects, we showed that, when two pump pulses are delayed by 1 ps, each pump pulse modulates the probe pulse independently, making this material highly promising for ultrafast all optical switching.