Temporal and spatial characteristics of a bistable element with a thermooptic nonlinearity

The example of a semiconductor interferometer with a thermooptic nonlinearity was used to demonstrate experimentally the decisive role of the ratio of the duration of an exciting pulse to the relaxation time of the nonlinearity in establishment of steady bistable operation of a nonlinear system with a feedback loop. A change in the spatial distribution of the intensity of the output signal during switching of the bistable element was recorded.