Ultrafast (200-fs switching, 1.5-Tb/s demultiplexing) and high-repetition (10 GHz) operations of a polarization-discriminating symmetric Mach-Zehnder all-optical switch

Author

Nakamura, Shigeru ; Ueno, Yoshiyasu ; Tajima, Kazuhito

Author_Institution

Opto-Electron. & High Frequency Device Res. Labs., NEC Corp., Ibaraki, Japan

Volume

10

Issue

11

fYear

1998

Firstpage

1575

Lastpage

1577

Abstract

We demonstrate 200-fs switching and 1.5-Tb/s demultiplexing with a polarization-discriminating, symmetric Mach-Zehnder (PD-SMZ) all-optical switch. This switch is based on a highly efficient but slowly relaxing band-filling effect resonantly excited in a passive InGaAsP bulk waveguide. By using a mechanism that cancels out the effect of the slow relaxation, ultrafast switching is realized. The applicability of this mechanism to optical demultiplexing of well over 1 Tb/s is experimentally demonstrated for the first time. High-repetition operation at 10 GHz with the same nonlinearity used for the present ultrafast switching is also verified.

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; Mach-Zehnder interferometers; demultiplexing; electro-optical switches; gallium arsenide; gallium compounds; high-speed optical techniques; indium compounds; optical communication equipment; optical waveguides; symmetry; 1.5 Tbit/s; 200 fs; InGaAsP; Tb/s demultiplexing; band-filling effect; high-repetition; high-repetition operation; optical demultiplexing; passive InGaAsP bulk waveguide; polarization-discriminating; polarization-discriminating symmetric Mach-Zehnder all-optical switch; slow relaxation; ultrafast fs switching; ultrafast switching; Communication switching; Demultiplexing; High speed optical techniques; Nonlinear optics; Optical interferometry; Optical polarization; Optical switches; Optical waveguides; Resonance; Ultrafast optics;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.726754

Filename

726754