Femtosecond and terahertz optical Kerr shutter switching in glass containing high concentration of Bi2O3

Non-resonant-type Bi2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glass containing high concentration of Bi2O3 was prepared by a melting method and optical Kerr switching experiments were performed using a femtosecond laser. This glass exhibited ultrafast response below 150 fs in optical switching operation. Moreover, THz optical switching was successfully performed with this glass using a 1.5 THz pulse train as the gate beam, which indicates that high speed switching beyond THz can be realized using Bi2O3-glass. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.