40Gb/s all-optical binary-coded-decimal decoder

We have experimentally demonstrated a 40Gb/s all-optical binary-coded-decimal (BCD) decoder for the first time, utilizing delay interferometers (DIs) and cascading semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) without any assisting light. Extinction ratios (ERs) of the intermediate results after the first SOA are all over 11dB which ensures the capability to cascade to the second one. The final results are in the form of return-to-zero (RZ) format with correct and clear temporal waveforms. The proposed scheme could be extended to 1-of-16 decoder, logic minterms and read only memory (ROM).