High-speed all-optical long-term memory using SOA MZIs: Simulation and experiment

We propose and demonstrate a novel all-optical memory to store high-speed optical data for long term. The key elements of the memory are Mach–Zehnder Interferometers (MZIs) incorporating semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), acting as AND gate and regenerator in a loop configuration. The simulations show that the memory can be operated up to 80 Gb/s. In addition, the memory was demonstrated at 21.3 Gb/s.