OPTICAL CONTROL ELEMENT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical control element having a high-speed wavelength conversion function, which can be operated by a low power source and eliminates the need for a wavelength filter and enables conversion to the same wavelength. SOLUTION: A symmetrical Mach-Zehnder circuit having a filter function is adopted in a phase modulator with a filter of a wavelength conversion circuit. A semiconductor optical amplifier is used which is made of a medium whose refractive index changes with the intensity of input light, and two p-type electrodes 506A and 506B are used to change an injecting current in order to control the state of the medium. Thus an output waveform of conversion object light having no 'hems' can be obtained. It is unnecessary to set a wavelength filter at an output port because input light and output light are separated by the phase modulator with the filter.