Effects of ultrafast processes on frequency converters based on four-wave mixing in semiconductor optical amplifiers

Author

Scotti, Simona ; Graziani, Laura ; D´Ottavi, Alessandro ; Martelli, Faustino ; Mecozzi, Antonio ; Spano, Paolo ; Ara, R. Dall´ ; Girardin, F. ; Guekos, G.

Author_Institution

Fondazione Ugo Bordoni, Rome, Italy

Volume

3

Issue

5

fYear

1997

fDate

10/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1156

Lastpage

1161

Abstract

We show the effect of the ultrafast optical nonlinear interactions on the efficiency of a frequency converter based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs). The ultrafast nonlinearities generate a dip of a few decibels in the down-conversion sideband of the conversion efficiency at detuning higher than 1 THz. The frequency detuning at which the minimum occurs depends on the device length and on the pump wavelength. The presence of the minimum of the efficiency affects the design of amplifiers specifically optimized for frequency conversion by FWM

Keywords

high-speed optical techniques; optical fibre communication; optical frequency conversion; optical transmitters; optimisation; semiconductor lasers; wavelength division multiplexing; 1 THz; conversion efficiency; detuning; device length; down-conversion sideband; four-wave mixing; frequency converter efficiency; frequency converters; frequency detuning; pump wavelength; semiconductor optical amplifiers; ultrafast nonlinearities; ultrafast optical nonlinear interactions; ultrafast processes; Four-wave mixing; Frequency conversion; Nonlinear optics; Optical amplifiers; Optical frequency conversion; Optical mixing; Optical pumping; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Stimulated emission; Ultrafast optics;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1077-260X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/2944.658589

Filename

658589