Ultrafast heating and switching of a semiconductor optical amplifier using half-cycle terahertz pulses

Carrier heating of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) using half-cycle terahertz pulses is investigated. For reasonable parameters, the electron-hole plasma temperature can be increased substantially. The subsequent change in the refractive index and gain profile of the SOA is predicted to be large enough to form the basis of a very efficient ultrahigh-speed optical switch.