Optical Bistability in a Silicon Waveguide Distributed Bragg Reflector Fabry-Perot Resonator

We demonstrate optical bistability in a silicon waveguide Fabry-Perot resonator formed by a pair of distributed Bragg reflectors. In the bistable regime, the output power of the resonator ceases to be uniquely determined by the input power because multiple powers within the cavity satisfy the resonance condition. Pulsating behavior is observed within the resonator output, and is attributed to noise within the experimental setup driving the resonator between the multiple allowed output powers.