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AbstractAll-optical flip-flop operation of multimode interference bistable laser diodes (MMI-BLDs) was experimentally
demonstrated for the first time. The MMI-BLD was prepared with
a conventional ridge waveguide laser diode fabrication procedure,
suitable for photonic integrated circuits. Bistable switching via
two-mode bistability was obtained with approximately 0-dBm
input powers due to cross-gain saturation and the saturable
absorbers. Bit-length conversion was successfully obtained with
noninverted and inverted outputs. This device will be useful in
future photonic systems requiring all-optical latching functions
such as optical memory, self-routing, and further optical signal
processing.
Index TermsBistable laser diode (BLD), bit-length conversion,
flip-flop, gain saturation, multimode interference (MMI) coupler,
optical memory, two-mode bistability.
I. INTRODUCTION
969
Fig. 4. Optical reset operation with 1556-nm reset light injection. The
injection current was approximately 160 mA. The lasing mode was switched
from Mode 1 to Mode 2 due to cross-gain saturation with a reset power of
around 0 dBm.
The lasing wavelength was roughly 1556 nm. The lasing spectrum was similar to a FabryProt lasers one. Fig. 4 shows the
static characteristic of the optical reset operation with 1556-nm
optical reset light injection. The experimental setup was similar
to that of the dynamic measurement shown in Fig. 5. The reset
signal was injected to the opposite end of the MMI-BLD from
the end to which the set signal was injected, because the spacing
of the two input ports was too narrow for simultaneous access.
However, there is no difference in the switching performance, as
compared to the manner in Fig. 1. The lasing mode was switched
digitally from Mode 1 to Mode 2 due to cross-gain saturation. The
required reset power was approximately 0 dBm. The increase of
the output power in the region of the large input power was the
leakage of the input light.
Next, we measured the dynamic switching behavior of the
optical flip-flop. The measurement setup is illustrated in Fig. 5.
We used 1556-nm 8-dBm continuous-wave light as the signal
source. The optical data pulses were created by an optical intensity modulator with data signals from a pulse pattern generator
and they were divided into set pulses and reset pulses by a 3-dB
coupler. We used a fiber delay line to create a delay between
970
impulses observed in the outputs were the leakage of the set and
reset light.
In normal absorptive BLDs, the speed of all-optical flip-flop
operation is limited by a relaxation oscillation frequency. However, the switching time of the MMI-BLD can be over its relaxation oscillation frequency because the carrier change of the
gain region between the Mode 1 and the Mode 2 states is suppressed due to the overlap of the two lasing modes. In this experiment, the switching time was mainly limited by the slow
carrier escape time of the saturable absorber because no reverse
bias was applied to the saturable absorbers. It can be improved
to around 40 Gb/s by applying the reverse bias to the saturable
absorber.
V. CONCLUSION
All-optical flip-flop operation with noninverted and inverted
outputs was demonstrated through two-mode bistability in an
MMI-BLD. The two lasing modes were switched digitally with
small input optical power levels around 0 dBm due to crossgain saturation and the saturable absorbers. Bit-length conversion was also demonstrated by down-converting the input pulse
stream to wider pulses. The MMI-BLD has the potential for
high-speed switching beyond 40 Gb/s and is suitable for integration with other devices. This device will be useful in future
photonic systems requiring all-optical latching functions such
as optical memory, self-routing, wavelength conversion, regeneration, and further optical signal processing.
REFERENCES
the set pulse and reset pulse. The signal power levels were adjusted using variable optical attenuators. Both the pulses were
adjusted to the transverse electric mode with polarization controllers. The output signals from the MMI-BLD were extracted
through optical circulators and fed into a digital sampling oscilloscope. The width and repetition period of the data pulses
were 10 and 320 ns, respectively. The reset pulses were delayed
200 ns by a 40-m fiber delay line.
Fig. 6(a) and (b) shows the set and reset light. Fig. 6(c) and (d)
shows the outputs of Mode 1 and Mode 2, respectively. It can be
seen in Fig. 6(c) that the lasing state of Mode 1 was switched by
the set/reset input pulses, thus converting the pulsewidth from
10 to 200 ns. Moreover, the inverted output was obtained from
the output of Mode 2 as shown in Fig. 6(d). The input pulses
were converted from 10 to 120 ns in the inverted output. The
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