Erbium-Ytterbium doped fibre absorption and fluorescence are exploited to realize an optical bistable device. An all-optical flip-flop with 10 ns transition time, 18.48 nJ set and 19.82 nJ reset energies, is experimentally demonstrated.
Operating principle for a flip-flop memory cell based on erbium-doped devices is presented. A complete model for memory dynamics is introduced taking into account, at the same time, for memory writing, reading, and erasing. Simple equations are found relating writing, spontaneous and stimulated erasing times to device physical parameters, signals wavelength and power. In principle, for example, increasing writing and erasing energies at the appropriate wavelength it is possible to dramatically reduce transition times. Extinction ratio (ER) is also determined as a function of host medium, and signals properties. An optimization technique is proposed for erasing signal design in order to guarantee maximum ER. Numerical example are provided for Er and Er-Yb doped fibers whose doping ion density is rho = 1.1413middot1024ions/m3, and 2.0 middot1025ions/m3, respectively. Finally, an experimental demonstration giving an Er higher than 5 and 16 dB for the two fibers, respectively, is provided and discussed.
We have demonstrated for the first time an all-optical flip-flop based on optical bistability of an integrated SOA/DFB-SOA by applying an input signal with the period of 25.2 ns. An all-optical flip-flop based on optical bistability is expected to process the signal at an ultra-high speed in a light-wave communication. All-optical flip-flop has various applications such as all optical memory, demultiplexing, packet-header buffering, and retiming. Moreover, an integrated SOA/DFBSOA can perform all-optical logic operation and wavelength conversion by cross gain modulation.
An all-optical flip-flop, the memory of which is based on dispersive bistability in a single vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifier, is demonstrated experimentally. Flip-flop control is achieved using two mechanisms: cross-phase modulation to set the flip-flop and cross-gain modulation of the holding beam within a remote SOA to reset it. Optical control signals are sub-milliwatt in power and derived from a single 5 ns, 1539 nm initial pulse. Flip-flop operation at 1542 nm is polarisation insensitive to control signals and achieved with an on-off contrast greater than 3 dB.