3 × 40 Gbit/s All-Optical Logic Operation Based on Low-Loss Triple-Mode Silicon Waveguide.

Area of Science:

• Optical Communications
• Photonics
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Single-mode fiber systems face limitations due to optical nonlinearities.
• Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM) offers a path to increase fiber capacity.
• All-Optical Signal Processing (AOSP) avoids costly optoelectronic conversions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance All-Optical Signal Processing (AOSP) performance by leveraging Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM) technologies.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of integrated optical logic operations using spatial modes.

Main Methods:

• Developed integrated devices for SDM, including mode multiplexers and low-crosstalk multimode bending.
• Identified key technologies to mitigate mode-dependent loss, crosstalk, and nonlinearities.
• Utilized a single multimode waveguide to perform optical logic operations.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated three-channel 40 Gbit/s optical logic operations using the first three spatial modes.
• Achieved a broadband four-wave mixing operation bandwidth (>20 nm).
• Obtained high conversion efficiency (>-20 dB) across all spatial modes.

Conclusions:

• The integration of SDM technologies significantly improves AOSP system performance.
• This approach shows potential for large-scale signal processing capacity.
• Future applications may combine Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) and SDM for enhanced optical networks.