Folded-path self-pumped wavelength converter based on four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier

A four-wave mixing wavelength converter with no external pump laser and very low input signal power requirements is characterized. The wavelength conversion occurs inside a high-reflection/antireflection coated semiconductor optical amplifier pigtailed with a fiber Bragg grating. The pump signal is provided by the lasing mode at the Bragg wavelength. A 1-mW optical signal modulated at 2.5 Gb/s is converted over 9 mm with error rates below 10^-9