We demonstrate that 80 Gb/s data-packets can be all-optically switched into two different ports employing an optical wavelength converter controlled by a monolithically integrated optical flip-flop memory. The optical wavelength converter consists of a semiconductor optical amplifier and an optical filter. The integrated optical flip-flop exhibits single-mode operation, has 35 dB contrast ratio...

We report the experimental demonstration of a new design for external cavity hybrid lasers consisting of a III-V semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) with fiber reflector and a photonic crystal (PhC)-based resonant reflector on SOI. The silicon reflector is composed of an SU8 polymer bus waveguide vertically coupled to a PhC cavity and provides a wavelength-selective optical feedback to the la...

We propose and demonstrate a method for determining the two-time photon-number correlations of an optical field on ultrafast time scales. The method, which uses dual-pulse, phase-averaged, balanced-homodyne detection, is sensitive at the single-photon level and can have a quantum efficiency approaching 100%. Using this method we have determined the two-time, photon-number correlations on subpic...

We demonstrate the generation of sub-picosecond optical pulses using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a linear polarizer placed in a ring-laser configuration. Nonlinear polarization rotation in the SOA serves as the passive mode-locking mechanism. The ring cavity generates pulses with duration below 800 fs (FWHM) at a repetition rate of 14 MHz. The time -bandwidth product is 0.48. Si...

Utilizing a tunable photonic crystal resonant reflector as a mirror of an external cavity laser cavity, we demonstrate a new type of label-free optical biosensor that achieves a high quality factor through the process of stimulated emission, while at the same time providing high sensitivity and large dynamic range. The photonic crystal is fabricated inexpensively from plastic materials, and its...

A wavelength converter is presented that is made out of a semiconductor optical amplifier and an optical bandpass filter. Error-free inverted wavelength conversion is demonstrated at a bitrate of 80 Gbit=s. This approach can be exploited at higher bitrates. A clear open eye indicating error-free wavelength conversion at 160 Gbit=s is also presented. This wavelength converter has a simple config...

We present calculations of the intensity smoothing of stochastic light by a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). We predict spectral changes of the light that are due to amplitudeto-phase coupling in the gain medium. The intensity smoothing of noisy optical signals with an SOA carries a penalty of spectral broadening (increased phase noise) that increases with increasing alpha parameter (line...

Chirp-controlled optical modulation is demonstrated using a voltage division scheme applied to a long-section phase modulator to compensate for the positive chirp of an electroabsorption modulator arranged in a tandem configuration. Both modulators are integrated with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a sampled-grating distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser. The effective chirp facto...

We present ultrahigh-speed and full C-band tunable wavelength conversions using cross-gain modulation in a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier (QD-SOA). In this study, we successfully demonstrated error-free 320-Gbit/s operation of an all-optical wavelength converter (AOWC) using the QD-SOA for the first time. We also demonstrated full C-band tunable operation of the AOWC in the wavelen...

We demonstrate a mitigation of Rayleigh back-scattering (RBS) impact in 10-Gb/s reflective electroabsorption modulator monolithically integrated with semiconductor optical amplifier (REAM-SOA). The technique is based on the intensity-noise suppression of the centralized incoherent seed-light, which enables smooth evolution of deployed DWDM applications. We exhibit the power penalty of less than...