Step-tunable all-optical wavelength conversion using cavity-enhanced four-wave mixing

Step tuning of a wavelength converter using cavity-enhanced four-wave mixing in a multimode semiconductor laser is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated. The converter is modulation-format transparent and is shown experimentally to have a high conversion efficiency (>-10 dB) and to be step-tunable over a large conversion range (>2.5 THz). A mathematical model of the wavelength converter is derived and is used to simulate step tuning of this device and to examine the relationship between conversion efficiency and information bandwidth of the converter.