Improving the Performance of All-Optical Wavelength Converters Using Fiber Gratings

We show that spectral filtering using a fiber Bragg grating as an optical discriminator improves the performance of semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) wavelength converters. This technique increases the operation speed and reduces the data patterning effect of SOAs for non-return-to-zero (NRZ)operation. For return-to-zero (RZ) operation the fiber grating increases extinction ratio and preserves the data polarity. We use this technique to obtain error-free wavelength conversion of NRZ data at 10 Gb s in an SOA with 6 GHz dynamic bandwidth. We also use the SOA fiber grating to convert RZ data at 10 Gb s and show that the converted pulses can propagate error free over 20,000 km in a dispersion-managed system.     

Suppression of Nonlinear Patterning Effect in Wavelength Conversion Based on Transient Cross-Phase Modulation in Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Assisted with a Detuning Filter

Nonlinear patterning （NLP） effect in wavelength conversion based on transient cross-phase modulation （XPM） in semiconductor optical amplifier （SOA） assisted with a detuning filter is theoretically investigated. A non- adiabatic model is used to estimate the ultrafast dynamics of gain, phase and electron temperature in the SOA. Simulation results show that the NLP can be greatly suppressed by introducing an assist light, especially for the probe wavelength distant from gain peak. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the improvement is more evident for long wavelength probe light and assist light in counter-propagating configuration.     

Broadly Tunable SOA-Based Active Mode-Locked Fibre Ring aser by Forward Injection Optical Pulse

We present a broadly tunable active mode-locked fibre ring laser based on a semiconductor optical amplifier （SOA）, with forward injection optical pulses. The laser can generate pulse sequence with pulsewidth about 12ps and high output power up to 8.56 dBm at 2.5 GHz stably. Incorporated with a wavelength-tunable optical bandpass filter, the pulse laser can operate with a broad wavelength tunable span up to 37nm with almost constant pulsewidth. A detailed experimental analysis is also carried out to investigate the relationship between the power of the internal cavity and the pulsewidth of the output pulse sequence. The experimental configuration of the pulse laser is very simple and easy to setup with no polarization-sensitive components.     

基于半导体光放大器中交叉增益调制效应的波长转换啁啾特性的分析

对基于半导体光放大器中交叉增益调制效应的波长转换后信号的啁啾特性进行了分析。研究了输入信号光和参考光和功率、波长、转换速率、信号光消光比以及半导体光放大器的偏置电流对转换后信号啁啾的影响。     

A novel all optical method of implementing an n-bit wavelength encoded complete digital data comparator using nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifiers

Data comparator is the integral part of arithmetic and logical unit of any electronic or optical data processor. Due to some inherent limitations of electronics it cannot be possible to obtain a super fast operation (over terahertz limit) from electronic comparators. Again wavelength encoding technique has been established as an excellent one over other existing optical data encoding techniques. Semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) technologies have shown their strong potentiality of realizing many all-optical systems. In this communication the authors have proposed a new scheme of developing all-optical wavelength encoded n bit binary comparator exploiting the four-wave mixing, wavelength filtering, wavelength conversion and nonlinear polarization rotation capabilities property of nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifiers. The scheme can be used for comparing signed and unsigned optical binary data of any bit wide numbers as well. The comparator is especially suitable for use as a building block in a larger optical circuit, such as in an all optical telecommunications switch.     

Method of developing an all optical wavelength encoded single bit comparator exploiting four wave mixing and wavelength filtering character of nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifiers

Data Comparator is the integral part of arithmetic and logical unit of any electronic or optical data processor. Due to some inherent limitations of electronics it is not possible to obtain super fast data processing (over Terahertz limit) from electronic comparator. Again frequency encoding technique has been established as an excellent one over the other optical data encoding techniques. Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA) technologies have shown its potentiality of realising many all-optical systems. In this communication the authors have proposed a new all-optical wavelength encoded single bit binary comparator exploiting the four wave mixing and wavelength filtering property of nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifier.     

基于半导体光放大器和整形滤波器的40 Gb/s的归零正码波长变换研究

理论上分析了通过整形滤波器方法实现正码波长变换的原理,并讨论了滤波器带宽及偏移方向对正码脉冲效果的影响,解释了目前实验报道中多采用蓝移滤波方案的技术根由。在实验上利用半导体光放大器(SOA)和通带滤波器完成了40Gb/s的归零码波长变换实验,验证了理论分析的结构,证明了整形滤波器加半导体光放大器的方案可以实现正码的波长变换。这对于简化网络的设计,提高信号传输质量都有重要的意义。     

SOA-based actively mode-locked fiber ring laser by forward injecting an external pulse train

An actively mode-locked fiber ring laser based on cross-gain modulation (XGM) in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is demonstrated to operate stably with a simple configuration. By forward injecting an easily-generated external pulse train, the mode-locked fiber laser can generate an optical-pulse sequence with pulsewidth about 6 ps and average output power about 7.9 mW. The output pulses show an ultra-low RMS jitter about 70.7 fs measured by a RF spectrum analyzer. The use of the proposed forward-injection configuration can realize the repetition-rate tunability from 1 to 15 GHz for the generated optical-pulse sequences. By employing a wavelength-tunable optical band-pass filter in the laser cavity, the operation wavelength of the designed SOA-based actively mode-locked fiber laser can be tuned continuously in a wide span between 1528 and 1565 nm. The parameters of external-injection optical pulses are studied experimentally to optimize the mode-locked fiber laser.     

All-optical ultrawideband monocycle generation utilizing gain saturation of a dark return-to-zero signal in a semiconductor optical amplifier

We demonstrate a simple and compact scheme to generate ultrawideband (UWB) monocycle pulses utilizing gain saturation of a dark return-to-zero (RZ) signal in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). When optical pulses with a dark RZ format propagate through the SOA, the output power at the rising edge will be overamplified compared with that at other durations due to the gain unsaturation. As a result, the output pulses are monocyclelike. The UWB frequency spectra at different injected currents, different input pulse widths, and different input wavelengths are analyzed. Our experiments show that the monocycle generation has good tolerance to the SOA bias current and the input signal wavelength.     

Patterning characteristics and its alleviation in high bit-rate amplification of bulk semiconductor optical amplifier

An investigation is carried out on high bit-rate pulse propagation through bulk semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a tunable optical bandpass filter (OBPF) placed at the output of the SOA for the alleviation of patterning of the amplified signal due to gain saturation in SOA. The effect of the OBPF in terms of its central wavelength detuning and bandwidth on the quality of peak power equalization of the output signal is investigated for signal pulsewidth smaller and larger than the critical pulsewidth of the amplifier at bit-rates of 20 and 40 Gb/s, respectively. It is observed that the scheme is highly useful for the signal pulses with width greater than the critical width.     

20-Gb/s and Higher Bit Rate Optical Wavelength Conversion for RZ-DPSK Signal Based on Four-Wave Mixing in Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

Abstract

We investigate 20 Gb/s wavelength conversion for return-to-zero differential phase-shift keying (RZ-DPSK) signal using four-wave mixing (FWM) in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). We show that the 10-Gb/s RZ-DPSK signal-to-pump ratio increases up to ?0.286 dB with Q factor improvement of 1.663 dB for increasing the cascadeability of optical networks. The effect of variation in bandwidth for an ideal dual-arm Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is illustrated. For different bit rates, the converted power signal is investigated with increase in signal input power. We show that the quality of converted signal is best before the saturation of SOA. The dependence of four-wave mixing (FWM) efficiency and converted signal power with signal input power is also studied, and it is found that FWM efficiency decreases with increase in signal input power.

The impact of signal-to–pump power ratio, unsaturated amplifier gain, and pump power is further optimized with minimum Q factor penalty for 10-Gb/s and 20-Gb/s bit rate. We show that converted signal power increases up to power saturation level and then starts decreasing. We also show that with higher bit rate, we have a wide range of choices for pump power signal. We further investigate the quality of converted signal at 10 Gb/s, which shows an improvement over signal input power. Finally, the increase in transmission distance after wavelength conversion is investigated.     

20-Gb/s and Higher Bit Rate Optical Wavelength Conversion for RZ-DPSK Signal Based on Four-Wave Mixing in Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

We investigate 20 Gb/s wavelength conversion for return-to-zero differential phase-shift keying (RZ-DPSK) signal using four-wave mixing (FWM) in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). We show that the 10-Gb/s RZ-DPSK signal-to-pump ratio increases up to -0.286 dB with Q factor improvement of 1.663 dB for increasing the cascadeability of optical networks. The effect of variation in bandwidth for an ideal dual-arm Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is illustrated. For different bit rates, the converted power signal is investigated with increase in signal input power. We show that the quality of converted signal is best before the saturation of SOA. The dependence of four-wave mixing (FWM) efficiency and converted signal power with signal input power is also studied, and it is found that FWM efficiency decreases with increase in signal input power.

The impact of signal-to-pump power ratio, unsaturated amplifier gain, and pump power is further optimized with minimum Q factor penalty for 10-Gb/s and 20-Gb/s bit rate. We show that converted signal power increases up to power saturation level and then starts decreasing. We also show that with higher bit rate, we have a wide range of choices for pump power signal. We further investigate the quality of converted signal at 10 Gb/s, which shows an improvement over signal input power. Finally, the increase in transmission distance after wavelength conversion is investigated.     

High Speed Signal Wavelength Conversion Using Stimulated Raman Effect in Ultrasmall Silicon-on-Insulator Optical Waveguides

We propose the high speed signal wavelength conversion based on stimulated Raman effect on silicon waveguides. Simulation results of non-return-to-zero （NRZ） pseudorandom bit sequence （2^7-1 code） at 500-Gb/s rate of conversion in an ultrasmall silicon-on-insulator （SOI） optical waveguide are presented by co-propagating pump optical field. The most attractive issue is that the inverted converted signal can be obtained at the same wavelength as that of primary signal. In addition, the conversion performances, including extinction ratio （ER） and average peak power of conversion signal, depend strongly on the launching pump intensity.     

Tunable sub-100 femtosecond dye-laser pulses generated with a nanosecond pulsed pumping

Subpicosecond pulses at a fixed wavelength produced with a low-Q cavity dye laser pumped by a single, nanosecond laser (Q-switched Nd:YAG) are converted into tunable high-power sub-100 femtosecond pulses by generation, spectral selection, amplification and compression of a supercontinuum. The tunable, chirped, high-energy pulses obtained are compressed with a prism pair. Energies up to 50 J in sub-100 fs pulses were obtained in the 540 to 650 nm range using 40 mJ of the Nd: YAG-laser pumping pulses at 532 nm. The whole sub-100 fs system including the low-Q dye laser uses only one Nd:YAG laser as a pump source.     

Broad-Band All-Optical Wavelength Conversion of Differential Phase-Shift Keyed Signal Using an SOA-Based Nonlinear Polarization Switch

Broad-band all-optical wavelength conversion of differential phase-shift keyed(DPSK) signal is experimentally demonstrated.This scheme is composed of a one-bit delay interferometer demodulation stage followed by a semiconductor optical amplifier(SOA) based nonlinear polarization switch.A wavelength converter for the10 Gb/s DPSK signal is presented,which has a wide wavelength range of more than 30 nm.The converted signals experience small power penalties less than 1.4 dB compared with the original signal,at a bit error rate of 10~(-9).Additionally,the optical spectra,the measured waveforms and the open eye diagrams of the converted signals show a high quality wavelength conversion performance.     

Demultiplexing of OTDM-DPSK signals based on a single semiconductor optical amplifier and optical filtering

We propose and demonstrate the use of a single semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and optical filtering to time demultiplex tributaries from an optical time division multiplexing-differential phase shift keying (OTDM-DPSK) signal. The scheme takes advantage of the fact that phase variations added to the target channel by cross-phase modulation from the control signal are effectively subtracted in the differential demodulation scheme employed for DPSK signals. Demultiplexing from 80 to 40 Gbit/s is demonstrated with moderate power penalty using an SOA with recovery time twice as long as the bit period at 80 Gbit/s. Large dynamic ranges for the input power and SOA current are experimentally demonstrated. The scheme is expected to be scalable toward higher bit rates.     

Low Timing Jitter and Tunable Dual-Wavelength Picosecond Pulse Generation from a Fabry--Pérot Laser Diode with External Injection

A novel scheme to generate tunable dual-wavelength optical pulses with low timing jitter at arbitrary repetition rates is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The pulses are generated from a gain-switched Fabry-Pérot laser diode with two external cw beams for injection seeding simultaneously. The cw light is generated by two independent distributed feedback laser diodes, and their wavelengths can be tuned independently by two temperature controllers. The dual-wavelength pulses with the pulse width of 57 ps, the timing jitter of 340 fs, are obtained. The sidemode-suppression ratio of the output pulses is better than 23dB over a 10-nm wavelength tuning range.     

Towards 640 Gbit/s wavelength conversion based on nonlinear polarization rotation in a semiconductor optical amplifier

Taking into account ultra-fast carrier dynamics, this paper models 640 Gbit/s wavelength conversion scheme based on nonlinear polarization rotation （NPR） in a single semiconductor optical amplifier （SOA） and investigates the performance of this kind of wavelength conversion scheme in detail. In this model, two carrier temperature equations are introduced to substitute two energy density equations, which reduce the complexity of calculation in comparison with the previous model. The temporary gain and phase shift dynamics induced by ultra-short optical pulses are numerically simulated and the simulated results are qualitatively in good agreement with reported experimental results. Simulated results show that non-inverted and inverted 640 Gbit/s wavelength conversions based on NPR are achieved with clear open eye diagrams. To further investigate the performance of the non-inverted wavelength conversion scheme, the dependence of output extinction ratio （ER） on some key parameters used in simulation is illustrated. Furthermore, simulated analyses show that high performance non-inverted wavelength conversion based on NPR can be achieved by using a red-shifted filtering scheme.     

Generation of 10-GHz duty-cycle tunable square optical pulse in an SOA-based mode-locked fiber laser

We demonstrate the generation of 10-GHz optical square pulses by injecting a picosecond pulse train into an SOA-based mode-locked fiber laser. The novel scheme exploits nonlinear effects and gain saturation phenomenon in the semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This technique uses gain-compression dynamics between the input pulses and the generated ones in gain-saturated SOA to form square pulses. The center wavelength of the generated optical square pulse can be tuned from 1530 to 1570 nm by adjusting the center wavelength of the optical band pass filter (OBPF) in the SOA-based mode-locked fiber ring laser. The duty cycle of the output pulse can be tuned from 12.7 to 88.4%, which strongly depends on the input power and intra-cavity power.     

基于半导体光放大器交叉偏振调制的波长转换理论研究

在半导体光放大器中,采用由张应变引起的自身双折射理论模型对交叉偏振调制型全光波长转换器的波长转换特性进行了数值研究,并对数值结果与相关实验进行了对比。结果表明:通过调节系统参量,可以实现同相或反相波长转换;同相和反相波长转换时输出的信号啁啾、消光比和眼图具有不同特性;随着数据传输速率的增加,输出信号的眼图张开度减小,啁啾变大。