Patent ID: 7375879

Claim:
A structure configured to process an incident amplitude-modulated optical signal having: a wavelength λ; an optical power at saturation (P sat ); and a dynamic amplitude swing (ΔP), the structure comprising: an optical cavity of effective index n eff and geometric thickness L satisfying the relation L = k · λ 2 · n eff , k being an integer, the cavity including at least one layer of a saturable optical absorbent material of Henry factor α H and of maximum absorption variation Δα; wherein Δα = 2 ⁢ π L · α H ; and wherein the structure has operating characteristics satisfying the relationship Δ ⁢ ⁢ P P sat = α 0 α 2 · Δα , wherein α 0 is a constant and α is an arithmetic mean.