Title :
Optical Switching Based on the Conditional Faraday Effect With Electron Spins in Quantum Dots
Author :
Thompson, Amy V. ; Seigneur, Hubert ; Leuenberger, Michael N. ; Schoenfeld, Winston V.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys., Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA
fDate :
6/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We present the theoretical foundation of a novel concept for optical switching based on the conditional Faraday effect with electron spins in quantum dots (QDs). Calculations for light of wavelengths lambda = 1.3 mum and lambda = 1.55 mum show devices with active regions of a few hundred microns are possible. Case studies for both spherical and nonspherical QDs are considered, with calculations for the nonspherical case showing a 20% reduction in the required device length due to the lifting of the light and heavy hole band degeneracy.
Keywords :
Faraday effect; electron spin; optical switches; semiconductor quantum dots; Faraday effect; electron spins; heavy hole band degeneracy; nonspherical quantum dots; optical switching; spherical quantum dots; wavelength 1.3 mum; wavelength 1.55 mum; Electron optics; Faraday effect; Optical modulation; Optical refraction; Optical switches; Optical variables control; Photonic crystals; Quantum dots; Refractive index; Telecommunication switching; Conditional Faraday effect; optical switches; photonic switching; refractive index modulation;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.2009.2013141
