Novel Tunable Bistable Quantum-Dot Vertical-Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

摘要

We propose and theoretically demonstrate a novel type of tunable bistable device. Detuning is achieved by introducing deflectable microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) membrane suspended above the top distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). By applying external voltage at the MEMS, the membrane deflects, which detunes the resonant wavelength of the vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers, and consequently changes the bistability of the device. Therefore, the hysteresis width and the shape of the input–output characteristics of the device (clockwise, butterfly, and counterclockwise hysteresis loops) can be controlled electronically.