High-speed magneto-optic switch for optical communication

Jianjian Ruan; Zihua Weng; Shaohan Lin

doi:10.1117/12.837710

24 November 2009 High-speed magneto-optic switch for optical communication

Jianjian Ruan, Zihua Weng, Shaohan Lin

Proceedings Volume 7509, 2009 International Conference on Optical Instruments and Technology: Optoelectronic Devices and Integration; 75090B (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.837710
Event: International Conference on Optical Instrumentation and Technology, 2009, Shanghai, China

Abstract

In this paper, an all fiber high-speed magneto-optic switch based on Faraday rotation in Bismuth-substituted Rare-earth Iron Garnet single crystal is proposed and investigated. It contains optical route, picosecond pulse generator and high-speed magnetic field structure. The optical route is designed with the function of switching the output optical signals in the networks. The biasing circuit for the magnetic field should be able to change the voltage rapidly in order to obtain fast operating time of the magneto-optic switch. Therefore, a kind of picosecond pulse generator based on the low-voltage avalanche characteristics of RF-BJT BFP450 is designed to drive a high-speed magnetic field. The experimental results indicate that the rise time of the output current pulse is only hundreds of picoseconds, which is satisfying for the high-speed magneto-optic switch. A current solenoid is used as high-speed magnetic field structure in this paper. It is noted that there is a time constant associated with the inductance of the current solenoid, which is an important factor determining the switching time. The switching time of the device also depends on the switching of the magnetic domains in the magneto-optic material. By controlling the magnetization of the magneto-optic material, the optical beam can be stably switched. The measured switching time of the device is only 134.2ns, so it can be widely used in the all-optical communication networks.

Citation Download Citation

Jianjian Ruan, Zihua Weng, and Shaohan Lin "High-speed magneto-optic switch for optical communication", Proc. SPIE 7509, 2009 International Conference on Optical Instruments and Technology: Optoelectronic Devices and Integration, 75090B (24 November 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.837710

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