Open AccessImplementation of pulse timing discriminator functionality into a GeSbTe/GeCuTe double layer structure
Author(s) -
Ryota Akimoto,
Hiroaki Handa,
Satoshi Shindo,
Yuji Sutou,
Masashi Kuwahara,
Makoto Naruse,
Takanao Saiki
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.026825
Subject(s) - ultrashort pulse , discriminator , optics , femtosecond , materials science , picosecond , optoelectronics , pulse shaping , femtosecond pulse shaping , pulse (music) , chalcogenide , amorphous solid , layer (electronics) , laser , nanotechnology , physics , detector , chemistry , organic chemistry
The functionality of a pulse timing discriminator, which is commonly required in optical communication systems and artificial neuromorphic engineering, was implemented into chalcogenide phase-change materials. GeSbTe (GST) and GeCuTe (GCT), which exhibit opposite refractive index behavior in their respective crystalline and amorphous phases, were employed. A GST/GCT double layer enabled the order of arrival of two counter-propagating femtosecond pulses to be encoded as a difference in the degree of amorphization of the GCT layer, i.e., either a brighter or darker contrast of the amorphized area with respect to the crystalline background. Nonthermal ultrafast amorphization contributed to a picosecond time resolution in the discrimination of the pulse arrival order.