160 Gb/s SOA-based wavelength conversion and all-optical switching of 80 Gb/s data packets using a wavelength converter and a monolithically integrated optical flip-flop

We demonstrate an error-free 160 Gb/s SOA-based optical wavelength converter. This optical wavelength converter can be controlled by a monolithically integrated optical flip-flop memory to switch 80 Gb/s data-packets all-optically. The optical wavelength converter consists of an SOA and an optical filter. Assisting by an optical bandpass filter, an effectively recovery time of 3 ps is achieved in an SOA, which ensures 160 Gb/s operation. The integrated optical flip-flop based on two-coupled lasers, exhibits single-mode operation, has 35 dB contrast ratio between the states and switches state in about 2 ns. We show that the integrated flip-flop is capable to control an optical wavelength conversion up to 160 Gb/s. The system is capable of routing 80 Gb/s data packets with duration of 35 ns, separated by 15 ns of guard time.