Ultrafast all-optical switching of a single micropillar cavity

Description

Micropillar cavities are versatile nanophotonic structures for locally enhancing light-matter interaction due to their high quality factors, low mode volumes, and clean free-space optical interface. These qualities have facilitated the successful application of micropillars as efficient single photon sources, for cavity QED strong coupling, and diode lasers. We present here frequency- and time-resolved pump-probe experiments of a single GaAs/AlAs micropillar cavity with a diameter of 6 µm studying the dynamics of the cavity resonance. All-optical switching is achieved by excitation of free carriers. We observe a simultaneous shift of two different transverse modes in the micropillar. The high-resolution frequency time traces of the resonances show a strongly non-exponential relaxation dynamics [1]. We interpret this with a second-order mechanism including the radiative recombination of electron and holes and a slow free carrier trapping time.

Period	20 Mar 2015
Event title	DPG Frühjahrstagung 2015 Berlin: (DPG Spring Meeting)
Event type	Conference
Location	Berlin, Germany
Degree of Recognition	International