Low-power all-optical broad-band switching device using ytterbium-doped fiber

All-optical photonic switching has been demonstrated at 1310 nm and 1545 nm using an all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer incorporating ytterbium-doped silica fiber. The switching was achieved with 980 nm excitation from a laser diode, with a power-length product of 3.7 mW/spl middot/m and 5.8 mW/spl middot/m at 1310 nm and 1545 mm respectively, thus giving low power all-optical switching at the preferred telecommunications wavelengths.