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A near-room-temperature all-optical polarization switch basedon the excitation of spin-polarized "virtual" carriers in quantum wells
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A near-room-temperature all-optical polarization switch basedon the excitation of spin-polarized "virtual" carriers in quantum wells

Murat Yildirim, J Prineas, Eric Gansen and Arthur Smirl
Journal of applied physics, Vol.98(6), pp.063506-063506-4
09/20/2005
DOI: 10.1063/1.2042531
url
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2042531View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Near-room-temperature operation of an all-optical polarization switch based on the virtual excitation of spin-polarized carriers in semiconductor quantum wells is demonstrated. The device is shown to exhibit a pulse-width-limited switching time, a contrast ratio of > 18 dB , an optical bandwidth of ∼ 3 THz , and an energy throughput of > 0.1 % using a thin (40 wells) Ga As ∕ Al Ga As sample. The results of differential transmission measurements are used to identify the dominant switching mechanisms and to monitor the spin and temporal dynamics of the carriers excited during the operation of the switch.

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