8-Channels, 10-Gbit/s operation of a clamped-gain semiconductor optical amplifier gate

Summary form only given. Wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) photonic transport networks with all-optical routing nodes based on space and wavelength switching are studied currently by several laboratories. For space switching, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA) constitute very attractive optical gates because they can offer gain to compensate for splitting losses as well as high ON/OFF ratio. In addition, by gain clamping techniques, system penalties due to cross-saturation-induced inter channel cross talk can be drastically reduced. We have experimented with a new type of clamped-gain SOA based on a DBR laser structure, which improves its system performance.