All-optical switching characteristics in bacteriorhodopsin and its applications in integrated optics.

We experimentally and theoretically investigated the optical switching characteristics of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) at lambda=633 nm using the pump-probe method. A diode-pumped second harmonic YAG laser (lambda=532 nm which is located around the maximum initial Br state absorption) was used as a pumping beam and a cw He-Ne laser (lambda=633 nm which is around the peaks of K and O states) was used as a probe. Due to the nonlinear intensity induced excited state absorption of the K, L, M, N, and O states in the bR photocycle, the switching characteristics are sensitive to the intensity of the probe and pump beams. Based on this property, we have demonstrated an all-optical device functioning as 11 kinds of variable binary all-optical logic gates.