Self-organized optical structures in semiconductor microresonators: toward the observation of cavity solitons

Robert Kuszelewicz; Isabelle Ganne; Gintas Slekys; Isabelle Sagnes

doi:10.1117/12.432607

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9 July 2001 Self-organized optical structures in semiconductor microresonators: toward the observation of cavity solitons

Robert Kuszelewicz, Isabelle Ganne, Gintas Slekys, Isabelle Sagnes

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Proceedings Volume 4283, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices IX; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.432607
Event: Symposium on Integrated Optics, 2001, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Theoretical studies on cavity transverse nonlinear dynamics have shown the possibility of exploiting the self-organizing properties of light response in the form of periodic patterns and cavity solitons. While very few experimental confirmations exist - only in macroscopic systems - we report on the first experimental results obtained in bulk and multi-quantum-well AlGaAs microresonators. These systems combine the advantage of : a monolithic character deriving from their well-controlled epitaxial growth conditions, a variety of nonlinear optical properties near the band gap edge, and a high Fresnel number. We review the general properties of semiconductor microresonators that lead to optical self-organization, emerging from the interplay between the dispersive or saturable absorptive nonlinearities and transverse mechanisms such as light diffraction and carrier diffusion. We show the first observation of periodic rolls, rhombs and hexagons patterns, stress the strong interaction of these patterns with the transverse fluctuations of the cavity thickness. Finally, we present the observation of precursor forms of cavity solitons, and evidence the strong thermal contribution they involve.

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Robert Kuszelewicz, Isabelle Ganne, Gintas Slekys, and Isabelle Sagnes "Self-organized optical structures in semiconductor microresonators: toward the observation of cavity solitons", Proc. SPIE 4283, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices IX, (9 July 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.432607

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