All-optical switching in an angled-grating semiconductor Braggamplifier

We propose an all-optical switching element based on forward Bragg diffraction in a periodically corrugated semiconductor laser amplifier. The device geometry is similar to that of an angled-grating distributed-feedback (α-DFB) laser except that there is no reflective feedback. Light induced changes in the refractive index cause the output to switch from a cross state to a bar state with input power levels of only a few milliwatts