Study of optical phase conjugation in bulk traveling wave semiconductor optical amplifier

Optical phase conjugation (OPC) in a bulk SOA has been optimized both under static and dynamic conditions. Conjugation with gain has been obtained. Dynamic optimization leads to a compromise between conversion efficiency and signal-to-background (S/B) ratio, providing that the modulated signal is kept a minimum of 5 dB weaker than the pump to avoid detrimental saturation effects. Transparent 10-Gb/s phase conjugation with extinction ratio around 20 dB at moderate power levels is reported.