40-Gbit/s all-optical circulating shift register with an inverter

Opt Lett. 1997 Oct 1;22(19):1479-81. doi: 10.1364/ol.22.001479.

Abstract

We report what is believed to be the first demonstration of an all-optical circulating shift register using an ultrafast nonlinear interferometer with a polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifier as the nonlinear switching element. The device operates at 40 Gbits/s, to our knowledge the highest speed demonstrated to date. Also, the demonstration proves the cascadability of the ultrafast nonlinear interferometric switch.