320-to-40 Gb/s demultiplexing using a single SOA assisted by an optical filter

We demonstrate excellent all-optical demultiplexing of 40-Gb/s base-rate channels out of 160- and 320-Gb/s single polarization optical time-division-multiplexed data streams. The demultiplexer utilizes a semiconductor optical amplifier and an optical filter placed at the amplifier output. The center wavelength of the filter is blue-shifted from the wavelength of the clock signal, so that ultrafast chirp dynamics can be employed for optical switching. Error-free demultiplexing was achieved at very low optical switch powers: 3.5 mW (160-Gb/s data), 6.3 mW (320-Gb/s data), and 0.09 mW (40-GHz clock). The proposed demultiplexer has a simple structure and allows monolithic integration