Fiber-optic logic gate

Abstract

Operation of a fiber-optic logic gate is demonstrated for the first time. The principle of operation is based upon the intensity-dependent polarization rotation in birefringent fibers. Using a birefringent fiber combined with polarizers in the crossed state, the ON/OFF state of an AND operation is clearly observed with an extinction ratio of approximately 10 dB. The fiber-optic logic gate would be a promising device for optical information processing in the future because of the feasibility of compact configuration and very fast-speed operation.

Polarization instabilities in birefringent nonlinear media: application to fiber-optic devices

“…For weak fields we may neglect the nonlinear terms in Eqs. (1). The coupled equations then reduce to…”

Polarization evolution and dispersion in fibers with spatially varying birefringence

“…3 Values of An/n vary in the range 10-9-10-. Fibers with high or moderate-to-high values of birefringence play a key role in sensors,4-7 gyros, 8 9 switches, [10][11][12][13] rotators, 14 15 and other devices.14'1 6 In these applications the location of the axes of birefringence is known, but random fluctuations along the length of the fiber can degrade the polarizationholding capabilities of the fiber. Kaminow 3 derived a model that describes in an ensemble-averaged sense the decrease in the degree of polarization.…”

Ultrawideband doublet pulse generation based on nonlinear polarization rotation of an elliptically polarized beam and its distribution over a fiber/wireless link

“…The proposed scheme, which is an all-optical one with an all-fiber-integrated structure, is based on the optical-fiberbased Kerr shutter configuration using the nonlinear-polarization-rotation (NPR) principle [15]. The conventional optical-fiber-based Kerr shutters, which use both linearly polarized control and probe beams, have been widely used for nonlinear signal processing, such as data demultiplexing in high-speed optical-time-domain-multiplexing (OTDM) systems [16], wavelength conversion [17], and logic gates [18].…”