All-optical switching device using a resonant photontunneling effect in multi-layered GaAs/AlGaAsstructures

摘要

We propose all-optical switch (AOS) structures that use theresonant photon tunneling effect in multi-layered GaAs/AlGaAs structuresand the optical non-linearity in GaAs. According to numericalcalculations, a sharp peak of tunneling probability appears at a resonantincident angle. It is also found that when the refractive index in the activelayer is changed by the control light irradiation, the resonant angle is alsochanged. In a simulation of the switching operation, it is demonstratedthat the newly structured AOS acts as an all-optical NOT gate. This resultindicates that multi-layered semiconductor structures are strong candidatesfor realizing all-optical switching devices.