40 Gb/s all-optical unicast and multicast wavelength converter array on an InP monolithically integrated chip fabricated by MPW technology

We present an InP monolithically integrated all-optical wavelength converter array chip and experimentally validate its performance for unicast (single output wavelength) and multicast (multiple output wavelengths) wavelength conversion. The monolithically integrated chip includes four semiconductor optical amplifiers with an arrayed-waveguide grating and two delayed interferometers. The chip is fabricated on a multi-project wafer (MPW) platform, which allows multiple designers to share space on the same wafer exploiting a generic integration platform. We demonstrate error-free non-return-to-zero (NRZ) unicast wavelength conversions using 2³¹-1 pseudorandom bit sequence data at 10 Gb/s, 20 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s with a 25-nm conversion range. Power penalties as low as 2.3 dB and 2.7 dB for NRZ and return-to-zero (RZ) unicast wavelength conversion at 40 Gb/s are obtained, respectively. Additionally, power penalties of 2.5 dB for NRZ and 3.2 dB for RZ signals at 40 Gb/s 1 × 2 multicast wavelength conversions are also achieved.