Abstract

Semiconductor Ring Lasers (SRLs) usually exhibit regimes of unidirectional operation, where bistability between clockwise (CW) and counter-clockwise (CCW) emission occurs [1]. In this regime, the direction of emission of the SRL can be set by injection of optical pulses through the waveguides that define the light-extraction sections, which offers a great potential for applications such as all-optical memories, switching and gating [2]. One of the limiting factors for such applications is the switching time needed for the device to reverse its emission direction, as it sets the maximum speed at which the device can be operated.

© 2009 IEEE