Open AccessStrong tunable slow and fast lights using a gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifier
Author(s) -
Sugn-ik Moon,
J. Park,
Jung Mi Oh,
N. J. Kim,
Dong−Han Lee,
ShuWei Chang,
D. Nielsen,
Shun Lien Chuang
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.17.021222
Subject(s) - slow light , optics , nanosecond , optical amplifier , optoelectronics , bandwidth (computing) , attenuation , semiconductor , materials science , optical power , wavelength , optical communication , physics , laser , telecommunications , computer science , photonic crystal
Previously demonstrated slow light is still far from applications, particularly due to the limited bandwidth and control speed. Although semiconductor-based slow light has the high bandwidth and sub-nanosecond control speed, slow light was observed only in the absorption regime with attenuation, while fast light observed in the gain regime with amplification. The large power difference in two regimes makes the use of the optical delay impractical. We report novel slow light in the gain regime, with a high power comparable to that of fast light, utilizing the anomalous gain characteristic in a gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifier. The slow light is tunable to fast light with the current as the only variable. Additional high speed operation, fast delay control, and wide range of operation wavelength make the present approach practical.