Optimization of bistable planar resonators operated near half the band gap

By using a modal approach that describes the optical response of a large class of nonlinear planar resonators under pulsed beam excitation we derive conditions to optimize the device with respect to different criteria. The influence of the nonlinearity is taken into account for both the cavity and the reflectors. The procedure results in simple algebraic formulas for the cavity thickness and the number of unit cells building the reflectors. The results hold likewise for microresonators of finite size and provide experimentalists with a useful tool to fabricate appropriate resonators for all optical switching operations.>