Nonlinear Optical Telecommunications Switch Technology

9800592安德森对电信服务需求的迅速增长并没有伴随着能够提供这些服务的技术的相应增长。 现在对更高带宽交换机的需求比以往任何时候都要强烈。 当前的电子路由技术已几乎达到其理论极限，为了在带宽能力方面实现所需的飞跃，显然需要转向基于非线性光交换机的技术。在本提案中，我们提出了一个研究计划，旨在提供一个基于四波混频孤子动力学的非线性光交叉开关的基础技术的深入理解，发生在第三，阶非线性集成光波导 该建议利用新的结果表明，存在多色四波混频孤子的频率分量之间的相位匹配在色散介质中完成的交叉相位调制和四波混频。 这些新的结果表明，利用四波混频孤子的非线性光交叉开关进行数据交换是可能的。 通过使用该技术还将实现几个附加的优点。 其中最重要的是数据光束在通过开关时会发生固有的参量放大，从而抵消光从长距离光纤耦合进出开关时自然发生的耦合损耗。 此外，该开关将制作从非线性光学平板介质波导生长的良好特性的AlGaAs/GaAs材料系统，所以有少得多的制造困难，以克服我们的研究计划使用分析，数值和实验方法来了解四波混频孤子的属性，这种开关的建设。 这里提出的工作利用PI的独特专业知识，再加上一种新颖的新方法来解决高数据速率交换问题，以解决电信行业面临的一个非常重要的问题。

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.***