Abstract
Over the past few years, there has been unprecedented progress in the use of nonlinear effects in semiconductor laser amplifiers (SLAs) for high speed all-optical signal processing. Amongst the many exciting results reported are all-optical demultiplexing experiments at data rates of 40 Gbit/s upwards to 160 Gbit/s [1,2], and wavelength conversion experiments at 20 Gbit/s [3], With the development of integrated devices, truly small-scale all-optical switches now seem possible for all-optical add-drop multiplexing applications, and for all-optical regeneration [4]. The small length (100s of μms.) of these devices mean that, for the first time, all-optical bit serial processing is a realistic possibility. In this paper we shall discuss some of the functional elements it is possible to build, and the crucial role that carrier dynamics play in SLAs. These dynamics allow switching rates approaching ~ 100 GHz [5], and also lead to a rich variety of effects in feedback experiments we have recently conducted in our laboratories.
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