Ultrafast Induction of Electronic Structures by Ultrashort Laser Pulses

Abstract

The availability of ultrashort laser pulses has recently stimulated much interest in both fast photonic devices and materials that can be applied in optical communication and optical computing. Third-order optical nonlinearity is the most important property for realization of photonic devices, such as alloptical switching, all-optical bistability, and optical limiting devices. Because of their large third-order nonlinearity, there has been significant interest in semiconductors (quantum-well structures). This resonant-type material, however, show large optical absorption and a slower response time in the limited wavelength range where large third-order nonlinearity is obtained.