Dynamic effects in optical bistability

Abstract
In the first part we give a brief review of some theoretical problems that still hinder the practical use of bistable optical devices in logic circuits. In the second part we study the influence of a time-dependent control parameter on the solution of differential equations. We prove that even for small sweeping rates large delays can be expected, resulting in the dynamical stabilization of unstable solutions. Examples are given for dynamically induced optical bistability in a laser and dynamical stabilization in a laser with saturable absorber.