Nonlinear optical limiter and digital optical switch by cascaded nonlinear couplers: analysis

In this paper, an all-optical digital switch and a limiter are proposed and analyzed, both of which consist of several nonlinear directional couplers in series. These two devices utilize the nonlinear restraining effect of the nonlinear coherent coupler on its input power. In the devices, the OFF-ON extinction ratio, the output power fluctuation and the dynamic switching range all decrease with the number of the couplers in series increasing, and the output power level can be adjusted by varying the coupling length. The characteristics of these devices with different structures are discussed, and the numerical results show that the OFF-ON extinction ratio and the dynamic switching range of the optical switches can be less than -90 dB and 0.03P/sub c//100, respectively, and that the fluctuation of the limiting output power of the optical limiter can be less than 10/sup -7/P/sub c/.