1.25GHz repetition rate operation of a SOA-DFB laser diode based all-optical flip-flop

All-optical packet switches are gaining a lot of interest due to the need for networks that are transparent to different data formats. A key element in such an all-optical switch is an all-optical flip-flop. In this paper, the high-speed dynamic operation of this device is experimentally shown. The used set and reset pulses are about 50ps long and the minimal pulse energies required to obtain switching between the stable states are 1pJ and 1.3pJ for the set and reset pulses respectively. The on-off ratio of the flip-flop output is about 18dB. And the switch times between the 2 stable states are measured to be as low as 50ps. By using set and reset pulses of 125ps long switching of the all-optical flip-flop, with an on-off ratio of over 25dB, has been obtained for switching energies as low as 900fJ and 700fJ for the set and reset pulses respectively.