All-optical switching in quantum cascade lasers

Abstract

The authors demonstrate the switching of the midinfrared output of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) using a near infrared control laser. The present, unoptimized, device offers 100% modulation depths, at approximately 50% of the maximum QCL output power, and has a switching energy of ∼15nJ. It works as a resettable photon flux integrator which would give it a retiming function if used as a component for optical free space communications