Optical wavelength converter with a semiconductor optical amplifier

Abstract

An optical function device capable of controlling an optical signal with another optical signal, wherein a modulated input light Iin of a wavelength λ1 is coupled with a bias light Ibias of a wavelength λ2, and the thus coupled input and bias lights are input to a first semiconductor optical amplifying element 48, so that the bias light Ibias is intensity-modulated in a phase reversed with respect to the input light Iin, while the input light Iin is cut by a first wavelength extracting element 56. A control light Ic of the wavelength λ1 is coupled with the intensity-modulated bias light Ibias of the wavelength λ2, and the thus coupled control and bias lights are input to a second optical amplifying element 50, so that the once reversed bias light Ibias of the wavelength λ2 is intensity-modulated with respect to the control light Ic of the wavelength λ1, and is extracted as an output light by a second wave extracting element 50. The optical function device functions as a three-terminal optical computing and amplifying device, a three-terminal optical switching device or an optical DEMUX device, which is capable of controlling an optical intensity by using one wavelength and which permits multi-stage connection.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.