https://doi.org/10.1007/s100530050337
Signal amplification by means of cavity solitons in semiconductor microcavities
1
INFM, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano,
via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
2
INFM, Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica, Politecnico di Bari,
via E. Orabona 4, 7016 Bari, Italy
Received:
11
December
1998
Revised:
25
February
1999
Published online: 15 July 1999
Cavity solitons were recently predicted in semiconductor microresonators grown with a vertical geometry. By exploiting a previously introduced model valid for both passive and active configurations of a multiple-quantum-well device, we studied the response in the time domain offered by such self-organized structures in the device, when a small modulated optical signal is applied. Using appropriate symmetry considerations, the (2+1)-dimensional problem is reduced to a tractable form, by means of a semianalytical method. We demonstrated that large differential-gain factors, competitive with those of other all-optical and some opto-electronic devices, are attainable, when the output signal is collected at the peak of the cavity soliton. This fact, in connection with the reconfigurability properties already established for cavity soliton arrays, allows to conceive different schemes for optical information handling: feasible arrangements for parallel amplification and for signal commutation are proposed.
PACS: 42.65.Tg – Optical solitons; nonlinear guided waves / 42.79.-e – Optical elements, devices, and systems / 42.70.Nq – Other nonlinear optical materials; photorefractive and semiconductor materials
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1999
