Optical bistability and nonlinear switching due to increasing absorption in single-crystal ZnSe waveguides

Abstract
Optical nonlinear switching and bistability due to increasing absorption have been observed in single-crystal ZnSe waveguides with contrast ratios of 16/1 and switching times of 10 μs at 15 mW of argon laser light. Switching energy is improved over the bulk by a factor of 200.