Hybrid organic-inorganic bistable nonlinear optical gate

This invention describes a dual mode optical switching device comprising organic quantum well regions interfacing with inorganic semiconductors. Each mode generates excitons and a photocurrent in their respective quantum well regions in response to incident control beams of different wavelengths of light. The photocurrents in each mode independently modulate the transmission of the lower frequency signal beams. Multiple hybrid organic/inorganic quantum well optical devices can be crafted into optical logic gates by using light impulses in a manner that is analogous to the way electronic gates are used in electronic systems. These devices can also perform as optical switches and optical interconnects between electronic elements. Thus the processing units are electronic and the connections between them are optical, comprising optoelectronic system with higher data throughput that will exceed electronic systems. Arrays of hybrid organic/inorganic quantum well optical devices create the opportunity for parallel processing.