At&t Bell Laboratories

Henry H Houh

Norman A Whitaker, Jr

M Christina Gabriel

An optical switch employs a modified sagnac arrangement that includes a sagnac loop and a coupler for injecting a signal into the loop and developing thereby two signals that travel along the loop in opposite directions. The coupler has at least one signal port that is accessible from outside the switch. In addition, a coupler is included to inject a pump signal into the loop to travel through the loop only in one direction. The loop is made of, or comprises, a material that has a controllable propagation speed. More particularly, the propagation speed in the material is a function of, for example, the intensity of the pump signal. The switch action is attained when the applied signals are in the form of pulses with pulse widths and relative positions are controlled to achieve a particular interaction. The switch action is observed by sending a pulse down a sagnac loop and observing its return. Switching is activated by either sending or not sending a pump pulse concurrently with the signal pulse that is sent down the sagnac loop. When a pump pulse is sent, it is timed to orient itself so that the pulse that propagates faster through the loop precedes the pulse that propagates slower. While propagating through the loop, the faster pulse overtakes and surpasses the slower pulse, causing the two pulses to transverse each other. In this manner the pump pulse affects the propagation speed of the pulse sent through the sagnac loop and modifies the phase of the affected pulse as it re-enters the sagnac coupler. When the intensity of the pump pulse is properly controlled, the phase shift caused by the pump pulse is such that no output appears at the port of the sagnac arrangement.

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Henry H Houh