Ultrafast defect dynamics: A new approach to all optical broadband switching employing amorphous selenium thin films

Journal Article · Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · AIP Advances

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927543· OSTI ID:22492268

Sharma, Rituraj; Prasai, Kiran

Optical switches offer higher switching speeds than electronics, however, in most cases utilizing the interband transitions of the active medium for switching. As a result, the signal suffers heavy losses. In this article, we demonstrate a simple and yet efficient ultrafast broadband all-optical switching on ps timescale in the sub-bandgap region of the a-Se thin film, where the intrinsic absorption is very weak. The optical switching is attributed to short-lived transient defects that form localized states in the bandgap and possess a large electron-phonon coupling. We model these processes through first principles simulation that are in agreement with the experiments.

• OSTI ID: 22492268
• Journal Information: AIP Advances, Vol. 5, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2015 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2158-3226
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ABSORPTION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
ELECTRON-PHONON COUPLING
ENERGY GAP
ENERGY LEVELS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
SELENIUM
THIN FILMS
TRANSIENTS
VELOCITY