All-optical nonreturn-to-zero to return-to-zero format conversion with wavelength conversion using an electroabsorption modulator

Abstract

Simultaneous all-optical nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) to return-to-zero (RZ) format conversion and wavelength conversion in an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) based on cross-absorption modulation (XAM) at 10 Gbit/s is demonstrated. The impact of the bias voltage of EAM and the input NRZ data signal power on the performance of converted RZ signals is studied. The maximum extinction ratio (ER) of converted RZ signals is about 12.08 dB. By tuning the wavelength of input NRZ signals from 1550 to 1570 nm, negative power penalty with a range of −0.9 to −0.2 dB is observed for converted RZ signals. Thus, error-free all-optical simultaneous format and wavelength conversion using EAM is reported, in a setup that has not been demonstrated in the past.