Ultrafast polarization modulation induced by the “virtual excitation” of spin-polarized excitons in quantum wells: Application to all-optical switching
- 15 April 2004
- journal article
- conference paper
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 95 (8) , 3907-3915
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1666977
Abstract
The operation of an all-optical coherent polarization switch that makes use of spin-polarized virtual excitons in unstrained quantum wells is thoroughly investigated experimentally over a wide range of excitation intensities. The device is shown to exhibit a 415 fs switching time and a contrast ratio of >300:1 at ∼100 K in a thin (40 well) sample. The switching mechanisms are discussed in terms of the circular optical selection rules and the virtual excitation is studied by performing differential measurements for various input polarizations. The polarization state changes induced by the spin-polarized virtual population are measured and their contributions to the switch signal separated using a combination of time-averaged, time-resolved, and spectrally resolved ellipsometric techniques.This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Femtosecond all-optical polarization switching based on the virtual excitation of spin-polarized excitons in quantum wellsApplied Physics Letters, 2002
- Carrier transport, ultrafast spin dynamics and polarisation switching in InGaAsP multiple quantum wellsOptical and Quantum Electronics, 2001
- Ultrafast high-contrast all-optical switching using spin polarization in low-temperature-grown multiple quantum wellsApplied Physics Letters, 2000
- A femtosecond, polarization-sensitive optically addressed modulator based on virtual exciton effects in an anisotropically strained multiple quantum wellApplied Physics Letters, 2000
- Spin relaxation and all optical polarization switching at 1.52 micrometres in InGaAs(P)/InGaAsP multiple quantum wellsSemiconductor Science and Technology, 1999
- Ultrafast all-optical spin polarization switch using quantum-well etalonIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 1996
- Highly Repetitive Picosecond Polarization Switching in Type-II AlGaAs/AlAs Multiple Quantum Well StructuresJapanese Journal of Applied Physics, 1993
- Monochromatic all-optical gate with 1 ps response timeApplied Physics Letters, 1993
- Femtosecond response time in a polarization-rotation switch using semiconductor-doped glassesOptics Letters, 1991
- Ultrafast all-optical gate with subpicosecond O N and O F F response timeApplied Physics Letters, 1986