All-optical swapping of spectral amplitude labels using cross-gain modulation in hybrid semiconductor fiber ring lasers

We present a novel configuration for all-optical swapping of spectral amplitude labels for optical packet networks, based on cross-gain modulation in fiber ring lasers. The use of a hybrid gain medium in the ring laser allows narrow linewidth, narrow spacing labels with high output powers, while a dual-stage approach with cascaded cross-gain modulation processes allows for non-inverted label swapping and uniform performance independent of the input and output label wavelengths. Label swapping is obtained for frequencies up to 200kHz with static switching contrast ratios of 35dB and dynamic contrast ratios of 15 dB.