SLALOM - SEMICONDUCTOR-LASER AMPLIFIER IN A LOOP MIRROR

The processing of optical signals in the optical domain is an importan t issue resulting from the desire to take advantage of the full bandwi dth of the optical fiber, In this paper, we present detailed investiga tions on a device, which utilizes a semiconductor laser amplifier in a loop mirror configuration (SLALOM). Different modes of operation are reported like nonlinear single pulse switching and two-pulse switching at different operation speeds (1-100 Gb/s). Furthermore, a number of applications of the SLALOM in photonic systems, like pulse shaping, de coding, retiming and time-division demultiplexing, are presented, In a ddition, the SLALOM can be used for an estimate of the linewidth enhan cement factor alpha and the carrier lifetime tau(e) in an SLA.