Optically controlled optical gate with an optoelectronic dual diode structure - theory and experiment

A low-power, surface-normal optically controlled optical gate that incorpor ates two stacked AlGaAs diodes has been tested using both picosecond and fe mtosecond pulses. The device opens and closes within 20 ps with a 30% refle ctivity change. Repeated gating with 20 ps periods has been demonstrated - a repetition period significantly faster than the external RC time constant . A theory of the dynamics of optically induced voltage across multiple-lay ered structures is presented and has been incorporated into simulations, ma tching experimental results well. This theory also provides insight into bo th the form and possible improvement of the device recovery using multiple layers.