All-optical flip-flop based on hybrid square-rectangular bistable lasers.

A compact, simple, and bistable hybrid square-rectangular laser is experimentally demonstrated as an all-optical flip-flop memory. Controllable bistability is induced by two-mode competition, together with the saturable absorption at the square microcavity section. The all-optical set and reset operations are realized by injecting signal pulses at two-mode wavelengths, with the response times of 165 and 60 ps at the triggering pulse width of 100 ps and switching energies of 2.7 and 14.2 fJ, respectively. The robust hybrid-cavity design has an active area of 660  μm and permits efficient unidirectional single-mode lasing, low-power flip-flop operation, and superior fabrication tolerance for monolithic photonic integration.