All-optical frequency conversion in a traveling-wave semiconductor laser amplifier

All-optical frequency conversion over the entire gain spectrum of a traveling-wave semiconductor laser amplifier is analyzed by numerical solution of a nonlinear wave equation system. The wavelength dependence of the gain coefficient g, the linewidth enhancement factor α, the differential gain dg/dN, and the gain saturation effect are contained in the model. The method yields a high conversion efficiency and a converted signal output power up to 10 dBm is obtainable. It is shown that the input signal power can vary by three orders of magnitude with nearly no degradation of the conversion efficiency. By means of the input powers, the conversion efficiency can be maximized. The dependence of the conversion efficiency is analyzed for fixed input powers. Simultaneous conversion of an optical data signal to several wavelengths is analyzed. The requirements for the output filter are outlined