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Switching through symmetry breaking in coupled nonlinear micro-cavities

2006; Optica Publishing Group; Volume: 14; Issue: 22 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1364/oe.14.010678

1094-4087

Björn Maes, Marin Soljačić, John D. Joannopoulos, Peter Bienstman, Roel Baets, Simon-Pierre Gorza, Marc Haelterman,

Mechanical and Optical Resonators

We describe stable symmetry-breaking states in systems with two coupled nonlinear cavities, using coupled-mode theory and rigorous simulations. Above a threshold input level the symmetric state of the passive Kerr system becomes unstable, and we show how this phenomenon can be employed for switching and flip-flop purposes, using positive pulses only. A device with compact photonic crystal microcavities is proposed by which we numerically demonstrate the principle.