ABSTRACT
Introduction Since the invention of the laser, the use of light in information technology has increased tremendously. However, of the three major components of information technology, namely signal transmission, storage, and manipulation, most progress has been made in the area of signal transmission by developing high quality optical materials such as doped silica and claddings for use in optical bers (1). High speed all-optical computing has not been fully realized mainly because of the lack of materials with specic properties that allow for more sophisticated light storage and for manipulation of the amplitude, frequency, phase, or direction of light without having to either convert light into electrical signals or having to mechanically modify the signal.
