Abstract
The optical nonlinearities associated with quantum confined excitons are promising for optical device applications. Low- power light modulation with high contrast has been made readily available with the resonant enhancement of electrooptic properties in quantum wells.1,2 The disadvantage of quantum wells for image processing is their relatively high conductivity. Spatial modulations in the field distributions are screened by free carriers. The conducting quantum wells are, therefore, not suited for spatial light modulation without the need for artificial reticulation into individual pixels. The photorefractive effect in contrast is ideally suited for image processing. The bulk photorefractive effect originates with the presence of defects or impurities that introduce energy levels in the band gap of insulators or semiconductors. The defects provide a reservoir of space-charge that can respond to coherent illumination to form volume holographic gratings. The disadvantage of the bulk photorefractive effect in semiconductors is the small linear electrooptic coefficient.
© 1990 Optical Society of America
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