2009/01/24 by Philip J. Harding, Harding, Philip J., Allard P. Mosk +10
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic Crystals and Applications #Photonic and Optical Devices #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0901.3855
1.) improved introduction 2.) superior modelling, better agreement with data
openalex publication_date 2009/01/24 · arxiv created 2009/10/19 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We explore a planar GaAs/AlAs photonic microcavity using pump-probe spectroscopy. Free carriers are excited in the GaAs with short pump pulses. The time-resolved reflectivity is spectrally resolved short probe pulses. We show experimentally that the cavity resonance and its width depend on the dynamic refractive index of both the lambda-slab and the lambda/4 GaAs mirrors. We clearly observe a double exponential relaxation of both the the cavity resonance and its width, which is due to the different recombination timescales in the lambda-slab and the mirrors. In particular, the relaxation time due to the GaAs mirrors approaches the photon storage time of the cavity, a regime for which nonlinear effects have been predicted. The strongly non-single exponential behavior of the resonance and the width is in excellent agreement to a transfer-matrix model taking into account two recombination times. The change in width leads to a change in reflectivity modulation depth. The model predicts an optimal cavity Q for any given induced carrier density, if the modulation depth is to be maximized.