Title :
Carrier Diffusion and Recombination in Photonic Crystal Nanocavity Optical Switches
Author :
Tanabe, Takasumi ; Taniyama, Hideaki ; Notomi, Masaya
Author_Institution :
NTT Basic Res. Labs., NTT Corp., Atsugi
fDate :
6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Carrier dynamics in silicon photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities are studied numerically. The results agree well with previous experimental demonstrations. It is shown that the presence of carrier diffusion makes fast switching possible, which is an advantage of nanocavity switches over other types of larger carrier based nonlinear optical switches. In particular, diffusion is effective in PhC nanocavity switches, which makes the switching recovery time even faster than that of silicon waveguide-based optical switches. In addition, calculations suggest that the thermo-optic effect can be reduced if the carriers are extracted within a few 100 ps by introducing a p-i-n structure.
Keywords :
carrier lifetime; electro-optical switches; elemental semiconductors; nanostructured materials; optical materials; photonic crystals; semiconductor switches; silicon; thermo-optical effects; Si; carrier diffusion; carrier recombination; nonlinear optical switches; p-i-n structure; silicon photonic crystal nanocavity; switching recovery time; thermo-optic effect; Integrated circuit technology; Nanoscale devices; Optical resonators; Optical switches; Optical waveguides; Photonic crystals; Radiative recombination; Silicon; Spontaneous emission; Telecommunication switching; Charge carrier processes; optical resonators; optical switches; periodic structures; photonic crystals;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2008.923638
