All-optical programmable array logic unit using semiconductor optical amplifier-based polarization switch

The demand for optical communication technology increases rapidly, and the frequency encoded data-based communication establishes an important place in optical communication technology because of the constancy and transparency of the frequency encoded data throughout the communication network. In this article, the authors have proposed a new method of developing an all-optical programmable array logic unit deploying semiconductor optical amplifier-based polarization switches with an attractive frequency-based data encoding technique. The authors have first developed some fundamental all-optical logic gates exploiting the polarization-based switching action of semiconductor optical amplifiers, and successively developed a method to design a programmable array logic unit using the fundamental logic arrays. This unit can be deployed to execute 16 different types of logic operations only by changing the frequency of the control signals. The simulation-aided result increases the practicability of the proposed circuit design.