20-NM OPTICAL WAVELENGTH CONVERSION USING NONDEGENERATE 4-WAVE-MIXING

Wavelength conversion of optical signals over 20 nm is demonstrated us ing highly nondegenerate four-wave mixing in a semiconductor traveling -wave optical amplifier. This technique has the potential for extremel y high-speed operation and allows continuous tuning of both input and output wavelengths over the amplifier gain bandwidth. We demonstrate t hat, even for such a large wavelength conversion range, it is possible to obtain conversion efficiencies in excess of -10 dB and high extinc tion ratios. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated by syste m measurements at 622 Mb / s, showing a 1.1-dB power penalty at 10(-9) bit error rate (BER).