A bidirectional 2 x 2 optical switch technique using absorption or amplification function of erbium-doped fiber

Abstract

A novel bidirectional 2 x 2 optical switch technique, based on conventional erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) that operate at a pumped or unpumped power level, is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. By using the amplification and absorption functions of EDFs and a simple architecture design, the input signals can be switched to a suitable port. The response time of wavelength switching approaches about 2 ms. Moreover, the behavior and system performance of the proposed configuration are also studied.