Theoretically predicted performance and frequency-scaling rule of a Symmetric-Mach-Zehnder optical 3R gating

Abstract

The performance of an optical 3R gating with a Symmetric-Mach-Zehnder semiconductor gate is predicted from our gating model and a set of realistic component-parameter values. In particular, the trade-off between amplitude-noise suppression and pattern-induced internal noise is demonstrated with an assumed 40-Gb/s input signal. Furthermore, a frequency-scaling rule for the 3R gate is analytically predicted that takes into account the optimum carrier lifetime and the carrier-injection level for the semiconductor-optical amplifiers inside the gate. The predicted scaling rule was numerically confirmed through our simulation, where a signal bit-rate of 160 Gb/s was assumed.