Controlling light with light: nonlinear optics applications in optical communications

Summary form only given. Nonlinear optics concepts, which are important for optical communications, are reviewed. Purely optical nonlinear processes including semiconductor optical amplifiers, non-resonant third-order susceptibilities in glasses, organic materials and semiconductors, as well as cascaded second-order nonlinearities are presented and compared for efficiency, losses and time response. Nonlinear optics applications to communications systems including nonlinearities in fiber transmission, wavelength conversion, optical regeneration, optical monitoring, optical phase conjugation, parametric amplification, optical de-multiplexing, optical switching and optical routing are presented. These applications utilize both fiber and waveguide structures. Integrated optics using high index contrast or photonic crystals may also play a role in achieving large nonlinear effects. Optimizing optical processing in communication systems is an exciting challenge. It will result in reduced costs and proved performance for future all-optical networks.