All-Optical Flip-Flop Based on Coupled-Mode DBR Laser Diode for Optically Clocked Operation

Masaru ZAITSU  Akio HIGO  Takuo TANEMURA  Yoshiaki NAKANO  

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Electronics   Vol.E95-C   No.2   pp.218-223
Publication Date: 2012/02/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1353
DOI: 10.1587/transele.E95.C.218
Print ISSN: 0916-8516
Type of Manuscript: Special Section PAPER (Special Section on Photonic Devices using Nanofabrication Technology and Their Applications)
Category: 
Keyword: 
all-optical flip-flop,  bistable laser diode,  cross-gain modulation,  saturable absorption,  photonic integrated circuit,  

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Summary: 
A novel type of optically clocked all-optical flip-flop based on a coupled-mode distributed Bragg reflector laser diode is proposed. The device operates as a bistable laser, where the two lasing modes at different wavelength are switched all-optically by injecting a clock pulse together with a set/reset signal. We employ an analytical model based on the two-mode coupled rate equations to verify the basic operation of the device numerically. Optically clocked flip-flop operation is obtained with a set/reset power of 0.60 mW and clock power of 1.8 mW. The device features simple structure, small footprint, and synchronized all-optical flip-flop operation, which should be attractive in the future digital photonic integrated circuits.