ABSTRACT
An active involvement of optics in information processing depends on the existence of dynamically controllable all-optical buffers. There has been a steady interest in the development of such devices and in the investigation of the fundamental principles that could lead to their development. Unlike usual optical delay lines that rely upon the phase delay of the signal light, the new generation of the controllable optical buffers is based on group delays. Phase delay τph = Ln0/c depends on the refractive index of thematerial n0, length of the delay line L, and speed of light in the vacuum c. Group delay τg = d(ωLn0(ω)/c)/dω is built upon the dispersion of the material, i.e., upon the frequency (ω) dependence of the refractive index n0(ω).
