Coherent all-optical switching in a bistable waveguide-cavity-waveguide system

All optical switching based on non-linear material effects is a promising technique for use in future optical communication systems. Promising advances in the field has been achieved using optical microcavities in photonic crystals to increase the optical field strength and hence reduce the required power of the input field. In this work the authors consider an alternative method of switching, in which the input power is kept constant and only the phase of the input field is varied.