Experimental characterization of ternary Cd0.9Zn0.1Te as a basic material for all-optical processing in the 1.5-mu m range

Bulk II-VI semi-insulating ternary alloy Cd0.9Zn0.1Te is characterized as a basic material for all-optical switching functions on free-space beams at lambda = 1.5 mum. The adopted snitching mechanism jointly exploits photo co nduction and the linear electro-optic effect. Cd0.9Zn0.1Te proves to be six orders of magnitude faster than binary CdTe:In working in the same configu ration. Control-beam fluence of less than 0.02 nJ/mum(2) is sufficient for complete switching, and an extinction ratio of 23 dB is obtained, limited b y spurious crystal birefringence. The role of material parameters in determ ining switching performances is discussed. A first estimate of the applicab ility of the switching principle in itself to communication signals is also given. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 160.5140, 230.1150, 160.2100, 230.5440.