Low-power optical bistability and hysteresis in the laser system with absorbing nanosuspension

Opt Lett. 2014 May 1;39(9):2819-22. doi: 10.1364/OL.39.002819.

Abstract

We demonstrate an optical bistability in a laser system with incoherent optical feedback and a nanosuspension as a nonlinear element. The optical transfer function is shown to exhibit a hysteresis loop for the light power in the range of a few milliwatts. It has been found that the optical bistability relies on the incoherent optical feedback and thermal defocusing nonlinear optical response of the nanosuspension.