Abstract

The feasibility of using semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) as switching elements in a self-routing optical ATM switch has been studied extensively.^1,2 However, considering that no optical filters can be integrated in an optical ATM switch, the size of an N×N ATM switching fabric is limited by the degraded signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to accumulated amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). To cope with this limitation, the use of low-gain optical-amplifier switching elements has been proposed.^3,4 Several important system aspects, such as the dynamic range and switching speed of the low-gain SOA-based switching fabric, however, have not been investigated for practical applications. In this paper we investigate these system aspects by using cascaded SOA simulation blocks. Each block is constructed by modifying Saleh's nonlinear SOA model⁵ to include the transient effect and accumulated ASE noise. The simulation model can provide a system-design guideline for an SOA-based ATM switch operating at various bit rates.

© 1995 Optical Society of America