Self-assembled InAs quantum dots within a vertical cavity structure for all-optical switching devices

摘要

An all-optical switching device has been proposed by using self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) within a vertical cavity structure for ultrafast optical communications. This device has several desirable properties, such as the ultra-low power consumption, the micrometre size, and the polarization insensitive operation. Due to the three-dimensional confined carrier state and the broad size distribution of self-assembled InAs/GaAs QDs, it is crucial to enhance the interaction between QDs and the cavity with appropriately designed ID periodic structure. Significant QD/cavity nonlinearity is theoretically observed by increasing the GaAs/AlAs pair number of the bottom mirror. By this consideration, we have fabricated vertical-reflection type QD switches with 12 periods of GaAs/Al_(0.8)Ga_(0.2)As for the top mirror and 25 periods for the bottom mirror to give an asymmetric vertical cavity. Optical switching via the QD excited state exhibits a fast switching process with a time constant down to 23 ps, confirming that the fast intersubband relaxation of carriers inside QDs is an effective means to speed up the switching process. A technique by changing the light incident angle realizes wavelength tunability over 30 nm for the QD/cavity switch.