An optical transistor of the nonlinear resonant structure

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical design for an optical transistor using nonlinear resonant structures that can amplify and switch signals simultaneously, promising high-speed, low-power integrated photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel optical transistor concept based on cascaded second-order nonlinear interactions with two operational schemes, supported by exact solutions and numerical validation.

Findings

Achieves cascadable amplification and digital switching.

Predicts and confirms a new nonlinear transparency phenomenon.

Demonstrates transistor-like performance at milliwatt input powers.

Abstract

An optical transistor capable of simultaneous amplification and switching is theoretically proposed via cascaded second-order nonlinear interactions in a resonant structure. Two distinct operational schemes are analyzed. A single frequency scheme employs cascaded second harmonic generation and inverse second harmonic generation (SHG/iSHG) using two Type-I SHG interactions, whereas a dual frequency scheme employs cascaded SHG and optical parametric amplification (SHG/OPA). Exact theoretical solutions and numerical calculations show cascadable amplification and digital on/off switching. A new optical phenomenon of nonlinear transparency is predicted by the theoretical solutions and confirmed by the numerical solutions in each scheme of the cascaded SHG/iSHG and SHG/OPA. The single and dual frequency configurations satisfy the cascadability and fan-out criteria with power transfer ratios of 4.838 and 52.26 and power amplification factors of 48.38 and 522.6, respectively. These results indicate transistor-like performance at input powers in the milliwatt range, readily supplied by laser diodes. The proposed structure establishes a physically feasible and practically scalable route to optical transistors operating at high speed and low power for integrated photonic circuits, with broad applications in all optical communication and computing.