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Optics Express

All-optical flip-flop operation based on bistability in V-cavity laser

Yingchen Wu, Yu Zhu, Xiaolu Liao, Jianjun Meng, Jian‐Jun He

Published May 31, 2016• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1364/oe.24.012507

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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.
We have proposed a scheme for all-optical switching and flip-flop based on controllable optical bistability in a simple three-level V-type atomic system assisted by an incoherent pump field. Due to the auxiliary incoherent pump, the atomic population is redistributed in the three levels, and then the absorption-dispersion property and the Kerr nonlinearity of the medium are different from those of the conventional V-type electromagnetically induced transparency system. The results show that both the thresholds and the area (or shape) of the hysteresis loop can be controlled efficiently via the adjustment of either the incoherent pump field or the coupling field. As a result, with a constant cavity input, the output of the optical cavity can be switched between the low- and high-power states of different bistable curves by tuning the optical fields. Based on this effect, we realize all-optical steady-state switching and set-reset flip-flop operation by adding a pulse sequence (positive pulse or set-reset pulse) onto either the incoherent pump field or the coupling field. Such a simple and effective technique of optical switching and flip-flop can find application in all-optical signal processing systems.
Since there is an increasing demand for fast networks and switches, the electronic data processing imposes a severe bottleneck and all-optical processing techniques will be required in the future. All-optical flip-flops are one of the key components because they can act as temporary memory elements. Several designs have already been demonstrated but they are often relatively slow or complex to fabricate. We demonstrate experimentally fast flip-flop operation in a single DFB laser diode which is one of the standard elements in today's telecommunication industry. Injecting continuous wave light in the laser diode, a bistability is obtained due to the spatial hole burning effect. We can switch between the two states by using pulses with energies below 200 fJ resulting in flip-flop operation with switching times below 75 ps and repetition rates of up to 2 GHz.
The fastest known operation of all-optical flip-flop memory was experimentally demonstrated using a 980-nm polarization bistable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Operating conditions of the input signal power and the frequency detuning to achieve the fast optical memory operation were characterized experimentally. At the optimum condition, 1-bit data signals were arbitrarily sampled and memorized from a 2(6)-1 pseudorandom bit sequence return-to-zero signal at 20 Gb/s by using AND gate and memory functionalities obtained from the polarization bistability. In addition, 1-bit memory operation was achieved for a 6-bit non-return-to-zero signal at 40 Gb/s. Both memory operations required 250-microW data signal power and had optical gain. The high potential of all-optical flip-flop memories based on polarization bistable VCSELs for use in ultrafast all-optical future networks was demonstrated.