Abstract

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, the operation of a cascadable, low-optical-switching-power $(\sim 10\mu \mathrm{W})$ small-area $(\sim 100\mu {\mathrm{m}}^2)$ high-speed ($80\mathrm{ps}$ fall time) all-optical inverter. This inverter employs cross-gain modulation, polarization gain anisotropy, and highly nonlinear gain characteristics of an electrically pumped vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier (VCSOA). The measured transfer characteristics of such an optical inverter resemble those of standard electronic metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor–based inverters exhibiting high noise margin and high extinction ratio $(\sim 9.3\mathrm{dB})$, making VCSOAs an ideal building block for all-optical logic and memory.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

All-optical flip-flop based on vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers

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