Optical bistability

In optics, optical bistability is an attribute of certain optical devices where two resonant transmissions states are possible and stable, dependent on the input. Optical devices with a feedback mechanism, e.g. a laser, provide two methods of achieving bistability.

This effect is caused by two factors

Important cases that might be regarded are:

Applications of this phenomenon include its use in optical transmitters, memory elements and pulse shapers.

Guangsheng He; Song H. Liu (1999). Physics of Nonlinear Optics. World Scientific. pp. 422–. ISBN .