High speed logic gate using two-photon absorption in silicon waveguides

The switching speed of conventional silicon-based optical switching devices based on plasma dispersion effect is limited by the lifetime of free carriers which introduce either phase or absorption changes. Here we report an all-optical logic NOR gate which does not rely on free carriers but instead uses two-photon absorption. High speed operation was achieved using pump induced non-degenerate two-photon absorption inside the submicron size silicon wire waveguides. The device required low pulse energy (few pJ) for logic gate operation.