All-optical control of clock division using an injection-locked Fabry-Perot laser diode

Summary form only given. In the development of optical time-division-multiplexing (OTDM) system, ultrafast all-optical clock repetition frequency division plays an important role. In the access node of an OTDM network, clock division converts the clock frequency to a sub-multiple of the input data rate for all-optical demultiplexing. Much research has been focused on the development of clock division techniques using semiconductor optical amplifiers or mode-locked lasers. In this paper, we propose a simple and robust technique of all-optical clock division based on the period doubling phenomenon in directly modulated semiconductor lasers. For the first time, we show that the output clock frequency can be optically controlled by a low power continuous-wave injected light signal. A switching speed is probed and an ultrafast response in the pico-second range is obtained. We have also investigated the wavelength dependence of optical control on clock division.