Programmable high bit rate pattern generator using a segmented semiconductor-optical amplifier

Summary form only given. Ultrahigh-speed single stream optical time division multiplexed (OTDM) networks operating at data rates of 100 Gb/s or higher can offer advantages over wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) networks providing the same aggregate capacity. A key element for such systems is a packet header generator, capable of taking header information at a low rate and imposing this bit pattern on a high-speed optical stream. In this letter we describe a new concept for the generation of high bit rate optical signals using a programmable pattern generator. The concept involves the formation of an arbitrary spatial pattern of gain and loss along an optical waveguide which contains the information that needs to be converted to a high bit rate optical signal. This process is controlled electronically and can be performed at word or packet rates. A single optical control pulse is used to transcribe the entire spatial pattern onto a counter-propagating optical beam by sequentially saturating the gain and absorption in the active waveguide. With proper spectral filtering following the waveguide, high bit rate RZ and NRZ data patterns can be generated.