| 摘要 |
The invention provides an all-optical switch including (a) means (1, 2, 3, 4; 21, 22, 30A, 30B) for introducing propagation time difference A to vertically and horizontally polarized components of a signal light (SL), (b) means (6, 26) for impressing phase modulation to the signal light, the means (6, 26) inducing refractive index changes when a control light (CL) is applied thereto, (c) means (7, 8, 10, 11, 12; 27, 31A, 31B) for introducing propagation time difference B, which is opposite to the propagation time difference A, to the vertically and horizontally polarized components of the signal light (SL), (d) means (9, 29) for making polarization of the vertically and horizontally polarized components of the signal light (SL) to coincide with each other, and (e) means (13, 23) for making the vertically and horizontally polarized components of the signal light (SL) to interfere with each other. The all-optical switch has advantages that switch-off time is not limited by the slow longitudinal relaxation time of non-linear effects, and that it has long term stability because it includes only one non-linear portion. <IMAGE>
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