All-optical Switching of a Microcavity Repeated at Terahertz Rates

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates ultrafast all-optical switching of a GaAs-AlAs microcavity at terahertz rates using the electronic Kerr effect, enabling sub-picosecond modulation for advanced optical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to achieve repeated, reproducible microcavity switching at THz rates driven solely by optical effects, surpassing previous speed limitations.

Findings

Switching rate as fast as 300 femtoseconds achieved

Repetition rate determined by optical parameters, not material relaxation

Potential for fundamental cavity-QED and optical processing studies

Abstract

We have performed ultrafast pump-probe experiments on a GaAs-AlAs microcavity with a resonance near 1300 nm in the "original" telecom band. We exploit the virtually instantaneous electronic Kerr effect to repeatedly and reproducibly switch a GaAs-AlAs planar microcavity. We achieve repetition times as fast as 300 fs, thereby breaking the THz modulation barrier. The rate of the switching in our experiments is only determined by optics and not by material related relaxation. Our results offer novel opportunities for fundamental studies of cavity-QED and optical information processing in sub-picosecond time scale.