Abstract

As bitrates in communications and computing systems continue to increase, a demand is created for ultrafast time domain demultiplexing (TDM) components. Much research has recently concentrated on interferometric fiber optic switching, and many of the devices consist of fiber loop mirrors, relying on a non-linear phase shift to induce the switching [1-4]. However, the %(3) nonlinearity of fibers is extremely weak long interaction lengths have been a source of severe latency. In order to reduce these latencies, it is desirable to induce large non-linear phase shifts in relatively short fiber lengths without significantly distorting the temporal pulse shape or its spectrum. We present analysis and experiments of a switching scheme based on a collision between two orthogonally-polarized soliton pulses in a highly birefringent polarization-maintaining (PM) optical fiber.

© 1996 Optical Society of America