A new bistable laser diode configuration for all optical switching

A new bistable laser diode configuration for all optical switching has been suggested and its equivalent circuit model is developed, For switching the device to the high state (set a TE mode optical pulse is required, which i s the oscillating mode of the laser, whereas a TM mode pulse is used to bri ng the output to a low state (reset). But the wavelength of the set and res et pulses are the same as that of the lasing wavelength of the device. The static and dynamic characteristics are studied hy simulating the equivalent circuit model using the circuit simulation program PSPICE, It is found tha t as the carrier lifetime tau(a) of the absorption section increases, the w idth of the optical pulse required for reset increases nonlinearly. The ris e and fall times are found to be 0.15 and 0.16 ns, respectively, for a tau( a) of 3 ns.