Abstract

Bistable laser diodes (BLDs) are expected to be key components in the future optical communication and switching systems.[1] Kawaguchi et al.[2] predicted that there are two kinds of polarisation bistability, ie, S-shaped bistability and pitchfork bifurcation bistability through gain saturation of LDs. The last one has a major speed advantage over the first one. They experimentally observed the pitchfork bifurcation bistability in a vertical- cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)[3] and reported a gigahertz all-optical flip-flop operation of the polarisation bistability[4].

© 1996 Optical Society of America