INTRINSIC OPTICAL BISTABILITY IN A SEMICONDUCTOR-DOPED GLASS FILTER

We present a simple experiment which demonstrates the main features of intrinsic optical bistability obtained through thermally induced shif ts in the band edge of semiconductor particles embedded in a glass mat rix. This readily demonstrates how nonlinear optical effects can be us ed to transmit information, providing an instructive introduction to t he main concepts of optical computing. Several possible extensions of the experiment suitable for advanced independent research projects are discussed. (C) 1995 American Association of Physics Teachers.