We have demonstrated continuous wave operation of BeZnCdSe quantum well laser diodes at room temperature in the
green to yellow spectrum range. The laser diodes structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. To overcome low
doping ability of a p-cladding layer materials of BeMgZnSe, a short-period superlattice of BeMgZnSe/ZnSe:N was
employed. High-power lasing over 50mW at a peak wavelength of 536 nm was achieved. By employing highly strained
BeZnCdSe quantum wells, continuous wave lasing up to 570 nm has been also achieved. The threshold current density
of 20-μm-wide lasers was found to be sufficiently low (less than 0.85 kA/cm2) in the wavelength range of 545 nm to 570
nm.
Dynamic path switching in lower layers such as optical or sub-wavelength layer-1 path connections is essential for future
networks to provide end-to-end, bandwidth-guaranteed, large-capacity services without energy crunch. While this is
almost generally agreed, the number of ports in optical switches tends to be limited by technological difficulties, severely
restraining the scale of the network. However, video-related services, that occupies most of the traffic nowadays, could
significantly alleviate such restraints if we utilized the nature of video usage. In most cases, video-related services are
virtually provided through prior reservation scheme in which a relatively high call-blocking probabilities or long latency
for a connection can be tolerated. This situation allows us to accommodate a relatively high number of subscribers with a
limited number of switch ports.
This paper shows that a network using optical switches with a technologically feasible number of ports, multi-granular
paths, and a hierarchical network topology can be of a national scale accommodating several tens of millions of
subscribers. The purpose of detailing a plausible network topology is to show that such a network offers a benefit of
energy efficiency approximately three orders of magnitude compared with that extrapolated from recent router-based
networks.
We then discuss important technical aspects of such dynamic optical path networks including our several research
activities. We emphasize the importance of vertically integrated research activities from application to device layers to
develop the dynamic optical path networks.
This invited talk will review the development of ultrafast all-optical LAN technologies, conducted by New Energy and
Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan. First, we will provide an outlook for the energy issues
of future network equipment, then point out the importance of optical circuit-switched networks, particularly for the
future local area networks in the forthcoming ultra-high definition, or 'Super Hi-vision', video era. To realize ultrafast
all-optical LAN, we argue that scalable network interface card technologies are the key. As specific development topics,
40G-CMOS based optical transceivers, picosecond all-optical switching using the inter-subband transition (ISBT)
devices, high-operating-temperature semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA), and integrated wide-dynamic-range
wavelength converters will be introduced.
Ultrafast all-optical switch based on intersubband transitions in InGaAs/AlAs/AlAsSb quantum well is described.
Because of very fast intra-band relaxation in conduction band, we can obtain very fast response of around 1ps. The
operation principles and characteristics as an absorption saturation type device are described. Also described is the
operation as an all-optical phase modulator. With Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration, error free all-optical
demultiplexing operation from 160-Gb/s to 40-Gb/s was achieved.
We demonstrated a novel two-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) based Symmetric-Mach-Zehnder-type all-optical switch (PC-SMZ) with InAs quantum dots (QDs) acting as a nonlinear phase-shift source. The 600-μm-long PC-SMZ with integrated wavelength-selective PC-based directional couplers and other PC components exhibited a 15-ps-wide
switching-window with a 2-ps rise/fall time at a wavelength of 1.3μm. Nonlinear optical phase shift in the 500-μm-long straight PC waveguide was also achieved at sufficiently low optical-energy (e.g., π phase shift at ~100-fJ control-pulse energy) due to the small saturation energy density of the QDs, which was enhanced in the PC waveguide, without having to use conventional measures such as SOAs with current-injected gain. These results pave the way to achieving novel PC- and QD-based photonic integrated circuits including multiple PC-SMZs and other novel functional devices.
All-optical switches being developed in the Femtosecond Technology Project are reviewed. New operating principles and new materials are introduced to attain low switching energy and very fast switching of 160Gb/s to 1Tb/s. Basic operation of the switches are demonstrated and some of the switches are tested in system experiments.
Kiyoshi Asakawa, Yoshimasa Sugimoto, H. Nakamura, Naoki Ikeda, Y. Tanaka, Y. Nakamura, S. Ohkouchi, Kozyo Kanamoto, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Y. Watanabe, K. Inoue, H. Sasaki, Koji Ishida
We have fabricated several two-dimensional photonic-crystal (2DPC) slab waveguides by using fine EB lithography and dry etching. The 2DPC waveguides include straight, bend and directional coupler on the GaAs/AlGaAs substrate as an application to the ultra-small and ultra-fast all-optical switching device (PC-SMZ). Site-controlled InAs quantum dots (QDs) responsible for nonlinear phase shift in the PC-SMZ have been investigated by developing a nano-probe assisted in-situ process. Optical linear and nonlinear properties of stacked QDs were characterized. The result exhibited the π/2 phase shift required for the SMZ-type optical switching operation. These results are capable of achieving the PC-SMZ.
We explain how a semiconductor optical amplifier in a Sagnac-interferometric arrangement can be used for switching of 200 fs optical pulses. The switching principles are based on gain and index saturation dynamics on a sub-picosecond timescale. We present a model that accounts for bi-directional propagation of ultrashort optical pulses through the amplifier as well as free-carrier absorption and two-photon absorption. We have also carried out pump and probe experiments to measure the ultrafast refractive index dynamics of a multi-quantum well InGaAsP-InGaAs semiconductor optical amplifier that is operated in the gain regime. The pump and probe pulses are cross-linearly polarized. We observe a phase shift of 200 degrees if the amplifier is pumped with 120 mA of current, but find that the phase shift vanishes if the injection current is increased to 160 mA. Our results indicate a contribution of two-photon absorption to the nonlinear phase shift that opposes the phase shift introduced by the gain. Finally, we observe that the phase shift comes up and disappears within a picosecond.
We present a systematic study of coupled defects in photonic crystals (PCs) and explore their applications in constructing optical components and devices for ultrafast all-optical signal processing. First, we find that very deep band gaps can be generated in the impurity bands of coupled cavity waveguides (CCWs) by a small periodic modulation of defect modes. This phenomenon implies a high-efficiency all-optical switching mechanism. The switching mechanism can be easily extended from one-dimensional (1D) to two-dimensional and three-dimensional PC structures by utilizing the coupling of defect pairs which are generally present in PCs. Second, we suggest that CCWs with quasiflat and narrow impurity bands can be employed as efficient delay lines for ultrashort pulses. Criteria for designing such kind of CCWs have been derived from the analysis of defect coupling and the investigation of pulse transmission through various CCWs. It is found that the availability of quasiflat impurity bands depends not only on the intrinsic properties of the constituting defects but also on the detailed configuration of CCWs. In experiments, optical delay lines based on 1D monorail CCWs have been successfully fabricated and characterized. Finally, we have proposed a new mechanism for constructing waveguide intersections with broad bandwidth and low cross-talk.
Based on our line shape analysis of temperature dependent absorption spectra on InGaAs/AlAsSb single quantum wells, we expect a fast carrier redistribution with in the broad inhomogeneous intersubband absorption spectrum from a wavelength as short as 1.72 micrometers . In addition, due to large resonant 3rd order susceptibility but weak absorption, we expect small saturation intensity (Is) at this short wavelength. We present wavelength dependent saturation measurements to show that the Is is, indeed, lower by more than an order of magnitude compared to that at the main peak (1.88 micrometers ). We also show from the figure of merit estimates that the carrier relaxation time at 1.72 micrometers is expected to be faster at 1.72 micron, consistent with the line shape analysis predictions.
We demonstrated four-wave mixing (FWM) with two pumps in a wavelength selectable laser to achieve a wide conversion bandwidth. Non-degenerated FWM with dual pumps in SOAs has been proposed to flatten the conversion efficiency variation accompanied with the variation of detunings between input signal and output conjugate. By utilizing a wavelength selectable laser, this complex scheme can be easily realized by a single device. We used a wavelength selectable laser, which consists of an 8-channel DFB laser array connected to an multi-mode interference (MMI) combiner with an SOA at its output. The DFBs had different lasing wavelengths with 3.18 nm spacing. We introduced a signal wave through one of the DFB lasers, and two of the lasers were used as pump sources. The wavelength of the signal and one of the pumps were fixed. The wavelength of the output conjugate was changed by switching to a different second pump laser. Conversion efficiencies between -14 and -16 dB were observed with wavelength detunings between 8 and 27 nm. An efficiency variation as small as 2 dB over a 2 THz frequency detuning range was achieved, in contrast to more than 5 dB variation in single pump schemes.
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