Abstract

We demonstrate operation of a low-birefringent nonlinear optical loop mirror (Low-Bi-NOLM) [1] driven by two synchronized En-doped fiber lasers (EDFL’s). High-speed serial signal processing and synchronization of a local laser to an incoming data stream are two main challenges in high-speed ( >100 Gb/s), time-division-multiplexed (TDM) network applications. Using a Low-Bi-NOLM as the signal processor and a new synchronization device based on a novel acoustic-optic-modulator (AOM)-grating scheme[2], we obtain stable nonlinear switching with a contrast of 16.2 dB and a switching energy of 18 pJ by making the timing window of the logic gate (6.5 ps) greater than the inter-laser timing jitter (3 ps).

© 1996 Optical Society of America