Ultrafast rerouting of light via slow modes in a nanophotonic directional coupler

T. Kampfrath, D. M. Beggs, T. P. White, M. Burresi, D. van Oosten, T. F. Krauss, L. Kuipers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We demonstrate that two coupled photonic-crystal waveguides can route two subsequently arriving light pulses to different output ports even though the pulses are only 3 ps apart. This rerouting of light is due to an ultrafast shift in the transmittance spectrum triggered by the generation of electrons and holes in the Si base material by a femtosecond laser pulse. The use of slow-light modes allows for a coupler length of only 5.2 mu m. Since these modes are not directly involved, the 3 ps dead time is solely determined by the duration of the input pulse rather than its transit time through the device.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume94
Issue number24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2009

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