Optical self-oscillations in a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well waveguide resonator

Optical self-oscillations have been observed in the power transmitted through a multiple-quantum-well waveguide resonator. This arises owing to two competing effects on the refractive index of the waveguide; namely, the optoelectronic nonlinear refractive index and the thermal coefficient of the refractive index. The frequency of the oscillations is around 0.3 MHz for the devices reported on here