168-Gb/s all-optical wavelength conversion with a symmetric-Mach-Zehnder-type switch

Abstract

Error-free all-optical wavelength conversion at 168 Gb/s, which is the highest repetition rate ever reported, has been achieved by using a symmetric-Mach-Zehnder (SMZ)-type switch. Low-power-penalty 84-Gb/s operation is also demonstrated. The push-pull switching mechanism of the SMZ switch enables such ultrafast operation based on cross-phase modulation associated with the carrier depletion in a semiconductor optical amplifier. The configuration of the delayed-interference signal-wavelength converter, which is a simplified variant of the SMZ switch, is used in this experiment.