OPTICAL NONLINEARITY OF SEMICONDUCTOR MIC ROCRYSTALLITES FORMED IN A THIN-FILM INSULATOR

An investigation is reported of the dependence of nonlinear properties of semiconductor microcrystallites (of technically controlled sim) on their configuration in a thin-him insulator. An analysis is made of p ossible reasons for the discrepancy between the optical nonlinearity p arameters predicted for quasi-zero-dimensional (QZD) media and those m easured for their thin-film analogues. The suitability of media formed by vacuum deposition methods for the investigation of the physics of QZD structures is demonstrated. The feasibility of constructing picose cond optical switches, based on nonlinear thin-film interferometers wi th a QZD intermediate layer, is considered.