10-Gb/s Optical Buffer Memory Using a Polarization Bistable VCSEL

Takashi MORI  Yuuki SATO  Hitoshi KAWAGUCHI 

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Electronics  Vol.E92-C  No.7  pp.957-963
Publication Date: 2009/07/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1353
Print ISSN: 0916-8516
Type of Manuscript: PAPER
Category: Lasers, Quantum Electronics
Keyword: 
all-optical signal processing,  optical buffer memory,  optical logic,  polarization bistability,  vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), 

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Summary: 
Optical buffer memory for 10-Gb/s data signal is demonstrated experimentally using a polarization bistable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). The optical buffer memory is based on an optical AND gate function and the polarization bistability of the VCSEL. Fast AND gate operation responsive to 50-ps-width optical pulses is achieved experimentally by increasing the detuning frequency between an injection light into the VCSEL and a lasing light from the VCSEL. A specified bit is extracted from the 10-Gb/s data signal by the fast AND gate operation and is stored as the polarization state of the VCSEL by the polarization bistability. The corresponding numerical simulations are also performed using two-mode rate equations taking into account the detuning frequency. The simulation results confirm the fast AND gate operation by increasing the detuning frequency as well as the experimental results.