Greatly reduced threshold power of optical bistability by using asymmetrical lineshape cavity

Abstract

A photonic crystal waveguide-cavity structure with a partially reflecting element is exploited to achieve optical bistability. Analysis of the theoretical model and validation of the numerical simulation indicate that this structure shows an asymmetrical lineshape and a novel switching characteristic, with the nonlinear transmission power varying sharply in a very narrow linewidth range. The characteristic power can be decreased from $6.35\mathrm{mW}∕\mu \mathrm{m}$ of the symmetrical lineshape to $0.604\mathrm{mW}∕\mu \mathrm{m}$ of the asymmetrical one. Through the study of the quality factor of the cavity, the results show that the lower switch power of an asymmetrical lineshape is essentially due to the increased Q-factor, which causes more and more energy to be stored in the cavity.

© 2009 Optical Society of America

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