Abstract

Recently, nonlinear fiber-loop-minor (NFLM) switches have received considerable attention Lor their potential application as wide-bandwidth all-optical switches in future telecommunications. Pump beams of either a different wavelength or different polarization from that of the probe beam are usually used to drive the NFLM switches. The chromatic and polarization dispersion of silica fibers cause the walk-off effect between the pump and probe beams and limit the switching speed of the NFLM-type all-optical switches. To suppress this walk- off effect, dispersion-shifted fibers or pump beams with a wavelength very close to that of the probe beam have been used.^1,2 We report a novel method for compensating the walk-off effect in an NFLM by using two pump beams.

© 1994 Optical Society of America