Wavelength and time switching using semiconductor nonlinear optical amplifiers

The role of optical switching within transparent optical transmission networks is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the need for wavelength switches within wavelength routed optical networks. A wavelength switch based on the absorptive nonlinearity within multi-contact semiconductor optical amplifiers is described. The authors demonstrate wavelength conversion of 400 Mbit/s data between 1.3 mu m and a wavelength over a 30 nm range centered on 1.55 mu m. This shows the suitability of such a device for linking the present 1.3 mu m network to future 1.55 mu m wavelength networks.