A novel optical decision circuit based on a Mach-Zehnder or Michelson interferometer and gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifiers

Abstract

A novel optical decision circuit based on a Mach-Zehnder or Michelson interferometer with a gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifier in each arm is proposed. Simulation results show that the component, of which the decision threshold can easily be modified through adjustment of the currents in both amplifiers, exhibits excellent reshaping capacities.