Coupled in-plane and vertical-cavity laser 1 x N routing switches

We report the experimental demonstration of monolithic all-optical 1:N routing switches using CW gain-quenched, intracavity-coupled in-plane and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) as the switching elements. These optically-coupled laser devices are capable of time-division multiplexing and demultiplexing operations, and the VCSEL sections may also be used as electrically- or optically-controllable large-aperture output couplers for in-plane laser modulation signals. The routing switch outputs have an on/off contrast ratio of >20 dB, and negligible crosstalk between channels. These devices will have a wide variety of applications, including logic gates and buffers in optical switching networks.