Title :
Regenerative properties of wavelength converters based on FWM in a semiconductor optical amplifier
Author :
Simos, H. ; Argyris, A. ; Kanakidis, D. ; Roditi, E. ; Ikiades, A. ; Syvridis, D.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Informatics & Telecommun., Univ. of Athens, Greece
fDate :
4/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A detailed experimental investigation of the regenerative properties of the four-wave mixing (FWM) for the conventional nonreturn-to-zero data format is reported. A key feature in the proposed scheme, and contrary to the conventional approach, is application of the ON-OFF keying modulation on the pump wave. Measurement of the static transfer functions of the FWM process in a semiconductor optical amplifier shows that certain operating regimes exist, mainly related to the power levels "one" and "zero" of the modulated pump, where a significant improvement of the extinction ratio (ER) can be achieved. This conclusion has been confirmed by dynamic measurements at 2.4 Gb/s, where up to 3-dB improvement in the ER has been observed.
Keywords :
electro-optical modulation; multiwave mixing; optical communication equipment; optical pumping; optical repeaters; optical wavelength conversion; semiconductor optical amplifiers; wavelength division multiplexing; 2.4 Gbit/s; FWM; ON-OFF keying modulation; dynamic measurements; extinction ratio; four-wave mixing; modulated pump; nonreturn-to-zero data format; optical wavelength converters; pump wave; regenerative properties; semiconductor optical amplifier; static transfer functions; Erbium; Nonlinear optics; Optical filters; Optical modulation; Optical pumping; Optical saturation; Optical wavelength conversion; Repeaters; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Stimulated emission;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2003.809307
