Optical Logic With Gain: Photonic Crystal Nanocavity Switches

Abstract : In this final report, we will describe the experimental results and new design concepts that we have developed over the past 3 years. We compare several approaches that take advantage of the addition of gain to optical logic system, and describe methods for electronic control over that gain. Moreover, we show several strategies of introducing optical gain into complex all optical logic systems and explore the ultimate operational speed of these switches. It is generally desirable to miniaturize optical logic system in order to enable their integration in large numbers, and the approaches taken during this project have been focused on lithographically connected devices that can be readily miniaturized and integrated in large numbers.