Distributed Coupling Coefficient DFB SOA-Based Optical Switch

Optical switching characteristics of a distributed coupling coefficient (DCC) distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), in which the corrugation depth varies along the cavity, is studied. The switching action is based on optical bistability phenomenon; therefore, bistability behavior of the structure is investigated. Wavelength and structural dependence of optical bistability in the structure is demonstrated. To examine the bistability characteristics of the DCC DFB SOA, a modified transfer-matrix method (TMM), which considers longitudinal variation of coupling coefficient due to grating height change along the cavity, and takes gain saturation into account, is utilized.