Active integrated photonic true time delay device

A photonic true time delay cell with two waveguide couplers and five semiconductor optical amplifiers is demonstrated. The five semiconductor optical amplifiers provide gain in the 1550-nm region and port selection to determine the time delay. With the amplifiers off the signal are blocked with extinction ratios of more than 10 dB. In the experiments reported here, the delay of 20 ns was provided by an optical fiber. Because of the potential for nanosecond switching times, the device has application in very agile phased array antenna applications, in optical switching and routing, and in optical filtering.