Ultrafast all-optical logic OR gate based on two-photon absorption with a semiconductor optical amplifier-assisted delayed interferometer

The performance of an all-optical logic OR gate is numerically studied and simulated. This Boolean operation is realized by using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a delayed interferometer (DI) based on two-photon absorption (TPA). The input pulse intensities are high enough so that the two-photon-induced phase change is larger than the regular gain-induced phase change. The study is carried out with the effect of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) taken into account in the simulation analysis. The dependence of the output quality factor (Q-factor) on the data signals and SOA’s parameters is also investigated and discussed. The achieved results show that the OR gate is capable of operating at a data speed of 250 Gb/s with logical correctness and proper Q-factor.