ASYNCHRONOUS PHASE-MODULATED OPTICAL FIBER-RING BUFFER

We investigate the dynamics of a 5-Gbit/s packet of ones and zeros loa ded into a 0.5-kbit, phase-modulated optical fiber-ring buffer. A new mode of operation is explored in which the cavity length of the buffer is slightly detuned from the frequency driving the phase modulator. W e examine the conditions for successful packet loading and the packet storage behavior. In addition, relaxation oscillations, which affected the storage time of previous high-speed optical ring buffers, are nea rly eliminated with a cw holding beam, and significantly enhanced stor age times are obtained. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America. OCIS code s: 060.2310, 060.4510, 060.2410, 060.2330.