Polarization Slaving Mechanisms in Vectorial Bistable Lasers

The basic mechanisms of external all-optical control of polarization bistabilities are isolated in one- and two-frequency systems. Induced rotation and induced inhibition mechanisms by vectorial injection in lasers are theoretically predicted and experimentally shown in both systems. The sensitivity of the vectorial systems leads to subfemtojoule switching energies, which correspond to the theoretical threshold values. A reduction by four orders of magnitude compared to the lowest energy demonstrated in scalar passive systems is obtained.