Abstract
The fundamental requirement for useful optical switching devices, fast switching at low power, is not easily achieved. Low switching powers, can be obtained by making use of the strong enhancement of the nonlinear optical coefficients near electronic resonances. On the other hand, the creation of real excitations in the material tends to limit the response time to the lifetime of the electronic excitations. For direct gap semiconductors, carrier lifetimes are in the nanosecond or subnanosecond range, which is not satifactory for extensive use in all optical switching devices.1
Work supported by the Danish Natural Science Research Council
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References
For recent reviews on optical switching, see e.g.: M. Gibbs, “Optical Bistability: Controlling Light by Light,” Orlando Academic, Orlando (1985), and P. Mandel, S.D. Smith and B.S. Wherret, “From Optical Bistability Towards Optical Computing, EJOB Program,” North Holland, Amsterdam (1987).
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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York
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Hvam, J.M., Dörnfeld, C. (1989). Nonlinearities, Coherence and Dephasing in Layered GaSe and in CdSe Surface Layer. In: Haug, H., Bányai, L. (eds) Optical Switching in Low-Dimensional Systems. NATO ASI Series, vol 194. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7278-3_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7278-3_22
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