Novel all-optical wavelength converter using coupled semiconductor optical amplifiers

Summary form only given. The wavelength converter has been considered to be one of the key devices in wavelength division-multiplexed (WDM) systems because it allows reuse of wavelengths, thus avoiding wavelength channel contention and giving more flexibility to the systems. Although several wavelength converters exist, problems such as insufficient conversion efficiency and critical operating conditions have prevented them from being widely deployed. In this paper, we describe a type of semiconductor wavelength converter with compact size and better conversion characteristics. The newly proposed wavelength converter utilizes coupled semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) and has a very simple structure.