Study on the instantaneous frequency deviation of pulses switched from semiconductor optical amplifier–assisted Sagnac interferometer

Abstract

The instantaneous frequency deviation of the pulses switched from a semiconductor optical amplifier ͑SOA͒-assisted Sagnac interferometer is theoretically studied and analyzed. By using explicit expressions for the phase response and its temporal derivative and applying a numerical model, a set of curves is obtained that allows us to investigate and assess the dependence of the function of interest on the critical operational parameters. From their interpretation, the basic design rules that must govern them in order for its profile to acquire a form suitable for practical exploitation are extracted. These suggest that the combination of the energy of the driving control pulses and the small signal gain of the SOA must be such that the latter is biased to operate up to the medium saturation regime. Moreover, the width of these pulses must not exceed 10% of their allocated time slot, while the role of the loop asymmetry and the SOA carrier lifetime is found to be less significant. If these conditions are satisfied, then it is feasible to make out of most of the considered interferometric configuration's phase response variation per time increment while being employed as a switching module.