Abstract

These devices rely on a novel nonlinear effect made possible by a combination of photoconductivity and the electrooptic effect. In CdTe with an electric field along the 〈111〉 direction, the electrooptic birefringence can be observed by a low-intensity signal beam propagating perpendicular to the applied field. For the switch, as shown in Fig. 1, a higher intensity control beam is perpendicular to the signal beam and is at a wavelength where the material exhibits modest photoconductivity. In the absence of the control beam, the signal beam polarization is rotated and transmitted through the analyzer. The control beam creates photo charge, which shields the signal beam from the applied field and reduces the transmission.

© 1988 Optical Society of America