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Multi-state optical flip-flop memory based on cascaded lasers

S Shaoxian Zhang, Daniel T. Owens, Yuzhen Liu, M.T. Hill, Daan Lenstra, GD Giok-Djan Khoe, H.J.S. Dorren

Published Jan 1, 2005• 1 citation
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Abstract

A multi-state optical flip-flop memory based on cascaded lasers is presented. We show that only one of the lasers can lase at a time, thus the state of the optical memory is determined by the wavelength of the dominant laser. The light from the dominant laser suppresses its neighboring lasers through gain saturation, but still receives amplification by the active element of the suppressed lasers, compensating for coupling losses. This light passes through each of the successive lasers, simultaneously suppressing and being amplified, thus all other lasers are suppressed. A five-state optical memory based on this concept is experimentally demonstrated

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A multi-state optical flip-flop memory based on cascaded lasers is presented. We show that only one of the lasers can lase at a time, thus the state of the optical memory is determined by the wavelength of the dominant laser. The light from the dominant laser suppresses its neighboring lasers through gain saturation, but still receives amplification by the active element of the suppressed lasers, compensating for coupling losses. This light passes through each of the successive lasers, simultaneously suppressing and being amplified, thus all other lasers are suppressed. A five-state optical memory based on this concept is experimentally demonstrated
Coherent nonlinear feedback is shown to eliminate the most critical transient problems in the known active integrated all-optical flip-flop structures, potentially increasing the operating speed by an order of magnitude. The nonlinearity is based on the interference of two coherent optical fields and on operating the pertinent laser amplifiers only above the laser threshold. Therefore the lasers have an approximately constant carrier density and an ever present photon population in the laser mode. This enables fast switching. Numerical analysis based on coupled rate equations demonstrates switching times below 25ps (40GHz).
An all-optical memory with three states is presented. The optical memory is realized from three-coupled identical nonlinear polarization switches. The state of the optical memory is determined by the wavelength of the memory’s output light. In each state, only one wavelength is dominant. The concept is explained and experimental results are presented that demonstrate that a contrast ratio of over 20 dB and a switching power of around 8 dBm can be obtained. This concept can be extended for an all-optical memory with a large number of states, which is crucial to realize 1×N all-optical packet switches.
We theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated an injection-locking based all-optical flip-flop memory using a simple and compact tunable V-cavity laser (VCL). A bistable region in the tuning characteristics of the VCL is employed for the flip-flop operation. The state of the VCL can be set and reset by injecting signal pulses at two different wavelengths. The pulse power for both set and reset signal is only about 1 pJ. Short response times of about 150 ps are measured for storing and erasing.
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.