EAGER: Optical Switching with Microcavity Polaritons

目的：本项目将探索利用新开发的半导体微腔结构在皮秒时间尺度上调制一束光和另一束光。我们的目标是展示这种方法的高效率，以便它可以开发用于光通信应用。一个特别的目标将是演示放大，其中输出光束的调制大于输入光束的调制。智力优势：该方法基于在电子和光子态的强耦合和弱耦合之间切换的通用方法，该方法已在许多微腔系统中得到证明，包括在室温下。我们将探索的开关方法可以很容易地适应于许多不同的结构，其中已经证明了强耦合。更广泛的影响：如果这种方法有效地工作，它可以成为光通信的一种变革性方法，允许在皮秒时间尺度上在紧凑的结构中由相同波长的另一束光调制光。特别是，由于单波长操作，器件级联，其中一个器件的输出成为下一个器件的输入，是可能的。这可能会影响整个光通信行业，因为迄今为止已知的光交换方法存在各种问题，包括需要不同波长的光束、非常大的结构或非常高的输入光束功率。

Objective: This project will explore modulation of an optical beam by another optical beam on the picosecond time scale, using newly developed semiconductor microcavity structures. Our goal is to show high efficiency of this method so that it can be developed for optical communications applications. A particular goal will be to demonstrate amplification, in which the modulation of the output beam is greater than that of the input beam. Intellectual merit: This method is based on the generic method of switching between strong coupling and weak coupling of electronic and photonic states, which has been demonstrated in numerous microcavity systems, including at room temperature. The switching method we will explore can be easily adapted to a number of different structures in which strong coupling has been demonstrated. Broader impacts: If this method works efficiently, it can be a transformative method for optical communications, allowing modulation of light by another light beam at the same wavelength on picosecond time scale in a compact structure. In particular, because of the single-wavelength operation, cascading of devices, in which the output of one device becomes the input of the next, is possible. This can impact the entire optical communications industry, because optical switching methods known to date suffer from various problems, including needing beams of different wavelengths, very large structures, or very high input beam power.