All-optical Mach-Zehnder wavelength converter with monolithically integrated preamplifiers

An interferometric wavelength converter with preamplifiers for both the signal input and the continuous-wave probe input is presented. The dynamic range of the device is enhanced: penalty-free conversion is demonstrated at 2.5 Gb/s for input powers ranging from -6 to +4 dBm. Transmission of the converted signal over 480 km of standard fiber shows penalty improvement relative to the unconverted, information-limited signal.