Semiconductor optical gate device and its application to high-speed optical switching

We developed a semiconductor optical gate device for application to large-capacity all-optical communication systems. It consists of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) for switching and spot-size converters on both sides of each SOA to enable optical coupling for hybrid integration. The device exhibited high-performance characteristics for gate switching and optical coupling and operated reliably for over 105 hours. A hybrid integrated wavelength selector with 32-channel optical gate devices mounted on the planar lightwave circuit (PLC) was also developed and demonstrated to operate well.