All-optical switching

All-optical switching

[photo of Susan, Andy and Lucas]
Susan Clark, Andrew Dawes, and Lucas Illing (from left to right).
© Dan Gauthier, 2005

This research is performed here at Duke University by Dan Gauthier, Andrew Dawes, Lucas Illing, and Susan Clark.

We are interested in understanding nonlinear interactions between light and matter. By exploiting such interactions, we demonstrated an all-optical switch where a weak ``switching'' beam of light controls a much stronger ``output'' beam. We can operate the switch with a switching beam containing as few as 2700 photons. Our goal is to optimize the experiment and achieve few-photon switching.

NEWS: Our paper on "All-optical switching in rubidium vapor" appeared in the April 29, 2005 issue of Science (A.M.C. Dawes, L. Illing, S. M. Clark, and D. J. Gauthier, Science 308, 672 (2005)).

All-optical Switching Resources

[Switching in action]
© Andrew Dawes and Lucas Illing, 2005
Introduction to All-optical switching
An introductory explanation of what we do and why it is useful
Transverse optical patterns
Transverse optical patterns and where they come from
Switching with patterns
An outline of our technique
Our Experimental Setup
Pictures and a description of our experimental setup
Our Results
The results of our experiment
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about all-optical switching in rubidium vapor
Publications
Our low-light switching publications and presentations
News and Links
News and Links to other resources on all-optical switching

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This material is based upon work supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of the Slow Light program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Army Research Office (ARO).

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.