Bistable switching in nonlinear Al0.06Ga0.94As étalons

Abstract
Optical bistability at 5 mW input power at 840 nm is reported in Al0.06Ga0.94As étalons grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, having an epitaxially grown high‐reflecting back mirror. The devices have been switched from the high‐reflecting to the low‐reflecting state with pulses from a laser diode operating at 778 nm with 10 pJ switching energy. The devices could be thermally stable for as long as 200 μs. The experimental results are compared with a simple theoretical model.