All-optical switching using a cascaded second order nonlinearity in semiconductor waveguides

A cascaded second order nonlinearity is described in both the degenerate (for which exact Jacobian elliptical function solutions are possible), and the nondegenerate case. Integrated all-optical ultrafast switches are proposed for both types of nonlinearity based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Switching power levels of the order of tens of Watts are predicted for semiconductor devices with ample scope for further reduction.<
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