All-Optical Wavelength Conversion by Four-Wave Mixing in a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

Author: Lee, Robert Bumju

Year: 1997

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Vahala, Kerry J.

Committee Members: Vahala, Kerry J.; Bridges, William B.; Quake, Stephen R.; Scherer, Axel; Yariv, Amnon

Option: Applied Physics

DOI: 10.7907/4yye-5f58

Abstract

Wavelength division multiplexed optical communication systems will soon become an integral part of commercial optical networks. A crucial new function required in WDM networks is wavelength conversion, the spectral translation of information-laden optical carriers, which enhances wavelength routing options and greatly improves network reconfigurability. One of several techniques for implementing this function is four-wave mixing utilizing ultra-fast intraband nonlinearities in semicondutor optical amplifiers.

The effects of input power, noise prefiltering and semiconductor optical amplifier length on the conversion efficiency and optical signal-to-noise ratio were examined. Systems experiments have been conducted in which several important performance characteristics of the wavelength converter were studied. A bit-error-rate performance of < 10-9 at 10 Gb/s was achieved for a record shift of 18 nm down in wavelength and 10 nm up in wavelength. Two cascaded conversions spanning a 40 km fiber link at 10 Gb/s are also demonstrated for conversions of up to 9 nm down and up in wavelength. The dynamic range of input signal power and its impact on the BER performance were studied at 2.5 Gb/s for both a single-channel conversion and a simultaneous 2-channel conversion. The crosstalk penalty induced by parasitic cross-gain modulation in 2-channel conversion is quantified. The spectral inversion which results from the conversion process is studied by time-resolved spectral analysis, and its application as a technique for dispersion compensation is demonstrated.

Finally, the application of selective organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy for the formation of highly-uniform and densely-packed arrays of GaAs quantum dots is demonstrated. GaAs dots of 15-20 nm in base diameter and 8-10 nm in height terminated by slow-growth crystallographic planes were grown within dielectric-mask openings and characterized by atomic force microscopy.

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