Energy Efficient Switching Technique for High-Speed Electro-Optical Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

The analysis and performance of an efficient microwave coupler using asymmetrical impedance matching are introduced aiming high-speed electro-optical space switches employing a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Through the reduction of the step matching resistor, its parasitic, and the optimization of the injected electrical switching signals, the proposed coupler was able to significantly reduce the SOA energy consumption while maintaining its ultrafast state transition with reduced transient behavior. Overall, the SOA-based switching action achieved guard times below 500 ps with overshoots close to 0% while operating with low bias currents and short pre-impulses, with a driver power close to 135 mW and energy consumption of 3.4 pJ/bit.

I. Introduction

The incessant increase of the digital data amount and bit rates in optical networks requires continuous development of new scientific paradigms and technological solutions. Regarding the Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA), a new ultra-wideband device already achieved transmission over [1]. As Data Centers (DCs) act as hubs to process and redirect the global data streaming [2], their operation requires switching optical packages with highly scalable architectures [3], increasingly higher commutation rates [4], lower latencies [5], higher spectral flexibility [6], and, prominently, lower energy consumption (EC) [7]. The importance of the EC reduction derives from the huge energy spent in DCs, motivating the research and development of Green Photonics [8], [9] to reduce the environmental impact of the global optical networks.