Abstract

Active and nonlinear waveguides have been investigated extensively in recent years, because of the possibility of performing all-optical signal processing in integrated optical circuits. Erbium-doped silica waveguides, in particular, can provide at the same time high gain [1],[2] and an intensity dependent refractive index with large nonlinear coefficient [3]. These features can improve the performance of all-optical switching devices [4] and suggest fascinating new operation conditions. In this paper, the behaviour of an active nonlinear three-slab directional coupler operating at 1.53μm is numerically investigated with a split-step finite-element method (SSFEM) [5], which allows accurate numerical simulations.

© 1993 Optical Society of America