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Eu2O3-PVA Saturable Absorber Thin-Film-Based All-Optical C-band Switch
* 1, 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 4
1  Afyon Kocatepe University
2  Faculty of Technology, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, ANS Campus 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye
3  Mechatronics Laboratory (LMETR)-E1764200 Optics and Mechanics Institute, Ferhat Abbas University Setif 1,19000 Setif ALGEIR
4  University of Tlemcen, STIC Laboratory, ALGEIR
5  Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Advanced Technologies R&D Center (ILTEM), Kütahya-TÜRKİYE
6  Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Photonics Technologies Application and Research Center (FOTAM), Kütahya-TÜRKİYE
7  Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Department of MaterialsEngineering, Kütahya-TÜRKİYE
8  Mechatronics Laboratory (LMETR)-E1764200 Optics and Mechanics Institute, Ferhat Abbas University Setif 1, 19000 Setif, ALGEIR
Academic Editor: Pasquale Pagliusi

Abstract:

In this study, the all-optical C-band switching capability of the nonlinear characteristics of Europium Oxide-Polyvinyl Alcohol (Eu2O3-PVA)-based saturable absorber (SA) thin film is experimentally shown. Eu2O3-PVA-based thin film saturable absorber was fabricated using a simple method and its all-optical switching performance was obtained by installing an all-fibre-based experimental testbed. In the experiments, a continuous wave (CW) signal at 1555 nm with an optical power of 20.41 mW generated by a tuneable laser source was converted into a variable frequency square-wave-modulated switching signal using a mechanical shutter/modulator. This modulated switching signal was then applied to the Eu2O3-PVA-based SA thin film with a CW signal at 1545 nm with an optical power of 3.47 mW provided by another tuneable laser source to switch the absorption characteristics of the SA between high-loss and low-loss cases. It has been shown that the 1545 nm CW signal was optically ON--OFF switched due to nonlinear absorption loss variations in SA generated by the saturating switching light at 1555 nm. In the experiments, all-optical switching in Eu2O3-PVA-based saturable absorber thin film succeeded for switching frequencies up to 4 KHz. The rise and fall times of the modulated light measured at 302 Hz were 500 µs and 350 µs on average, respectively.

Keywords: All-optical switch, Eu2O3-PVA based saturable absorber.

 
 
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