We present a 1 2 all-optical packet switch. All the processing of the header information is carried out in the optical domain. The optical headers are recognized by employing the two-pulse correlation principle in a semiconductor laser amplifier in loop optical mirror (SLALOM) configuration. The processed header information is stored in an optical flip-flop memory that is based on a symmetric configuration of two coupled lasers. The optical flip-flop memory drives a wavelength routing switch that is based on cross-gain modulation in a semiconductor optical amplifier. We also present an alternative optical packet routing concept that can be used for all-optical buffering of data packets. In this case, an optical threshold function that is based on a asymmetric configuration of two coupled lasers is used to drive a wavelength routing switch. Experimental results are presented for both the 1 2 optical packet switch and the optical buffer switch. Index Terms-Optical flip-flop memories, optical header recognizing, optical packet switching, optical signal processing, wavelength conversion.
Abstract-We discuss an all-optical wavelength converter based on nonlinear polarization rotation in a single semiconductor optical amplifier. We show that inverted and noninverted wavelength conversion can be realized. We also demonstrate this wavelengthconversion concept can operate over a large wavelength range. Experiments show that error-free wavelength conversion can be obtained at a bit rate of 10 Gb/s.Index Terms-All-optical wavelength converter, birefringence, nonlinear polarization rotation, semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA).
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