Nonlinear Optical Telecommunications Switch Technology

9800592 Andersen.电信服务需求迅速增加之后，能够提供这些服务的技术并没有相应增加。现在对更高带宽交换机的需求比以往任何时候都更强烈。目前的电子布线技术已经接近其理论极限，为了实现带宽能力的飞跃，显然需要转向基于非线性光开关的技术。在该方案中，我们提出了一项研究计划，旨在深入理解基于三阶非线性集成光波导中的四波混频孤子动力学的非线性光交叉开关的技术基础。该方案利用新的结果证明了多色四波混频孤子的存在，其中色散介质中频率分量之间的相位匹配是通过交叉相位调制和四波混频来完成的。这些新的结果表明，利用基于四波混频孤子的非线性光交叉开关来交换数据是可能的。使用这项技术还将实现几个额外的优势。其中最重要的是数据光束通过交换机时可能发生的本征参数放大，从而抵消从长距离光纤耦合到交换机和从交换机传出的光自然产生的耦合损耗。此外，该开关将由具有良好特性的AlGaAs/GaAs材料系统生长的非线性光学平板介质波导制成，因此需要克服的制造难度要小得多。我们的研究计划使用解析、数值和实验方法来理解这种开关的四波混频孤子特性。这里提出的工作利用了PI的独特专业知识，以及一种解决高数据速率交换问题的新方法，以解决电信业面临的一个极其重要的问题。

9800592AndersenThe rapid increase in demand for telecommunications services has not been followed by a commensurate increase in the technology capable of providing these services. Demand for higher-bandwidth switches is stronger now than it has ever been. Current electronic routing technologies are stretched nearly to their theoretical limits and in order to make the required leap in bandwidth capabilities, a move to nonlinear optical switch-based technologies is clearly required.In this proposal, we put forth a research plan aimed at providing a deep understanding of the technologies underlying a nonlinear optical crossbar switch based on the four-wave mixing soliton dynamics that occur in third-order nonlinear integrated optical waveguides. The proposal makes use of new results demonstrating the existence of multi-color four-wave mixing solitons where the phasematching between frequency components in a dispersive medium is accomplished by both cross-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. These new results suggest that it should be possible to switch data using a nonlinear optical crossbar switch based on the four-wave mixing solitons. Several additional advantages will also be realized by using this technology. The most important of these is the intrinsic parametric amplification of the data beam that can take place as it passes through the switch, thus counteracting coupling losses that naturally occur as light is coupled from the long-haul fiber into and out of the switch. In addition, the switch will be fabricated from nonlinear optical slab dielectric waveguides grown from the well-characterized AlGaAs/GaAs material system, and so there far fewer fabrication difficulties to overcome.Our research plan uses analytical, numerical, and experimental methods to understand the four-wave mixing soliton properties that underly the construction of such a switch. The work proposed here utilizes the unique expertise of the PI, coupled with a novel new approach to the problem of high data rate switching, to solve an extraordinarily important problem facing the telecommunications industry.***