Monolithically Integrated Coupled-Laser All-Optical Switching and Routing Elements and Circuits

摘要

Previous work on monolithically integrated coupled-laser all-optical switching elements and circuits showed that the threshold current for the in- plane lasers fabricated from wafers designed for vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) were too high to permit long-term room temperature continuous wave (cw) operation. Results on experiments aimed at reducing the threshold current for the coupled in-plane lasers are reported. Two approaches were evaluated: oxidation and lattice intermixing through zinc-diffusion. No definite reduction of the threshold current for the in-plane lasers was observed, even though oxidation did lead to marked improvement in the operation characteristics of the coupled VCSELs. Emphasis of current work is on determining the switching speed of such coupled-laser switching elements and circuits.