| dc.contributor.author | Van Dommelen, Ronnie Francis. | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-21T12:35:02Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2005 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2005 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.other | AAINR13056 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10222/54771 | |
| dc.description | The integrated active Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) has received considerable attention in recent years for use as a wavelength converter or to perform logical functions. Such devices are foreseen as being important in the design of all-optical routers for high-speed long-haul fiber communications systems. This thesis considers several designs in which external feedback is applied to the same MZI. | en_US |
| dc.description | Under proper operating conditions bistability is observed and the system can be used as an all-optical memory. Several system variations were studied using a numerical model. Both static and dynamic characteristics were investigated. A previously patented memory design based on an MZI is shown to be impractical due to limitations imposed on the resetting input signal. A second memory design is shown to suffer from critical slowing down. A third proposed design is shown to avoid the problems associated with the first two designs. In addition to the numerical simulations, a simple linear model and a graphical approach are developed to explain some of the dynamic system behaviors. Numerical simulations and the linear model are also applied to the design and stability analysis of an optical ring oscillator. | en_US |
| dc.description | Experimentally, both single bit flip-flop and multi-bit buffer-type memory designs were constructed. It is postulated that sub-optimal electrical and optical biasing conditions limit the observed transient response times and contribute greatly to the observed noise levels. Critical slowing down is also experimentally investigated in a controllable manner. An all-optical ring oscillator is demonstrated. Finally, simple digital electric circuits that are functionally equivalent to the optical memory designs are used to validate numerical simulation results. | en_US |
| dc.description | The major original contributions of this thesis are the newly proposed all-optical flip-flop and buffer memories, including the design, numerical simulation, electrical equivalent-circuit simulation, and experimental testing. Other contributions include the design and testing of the all-optical oscillator and the use of a simple graphical analysis to explain the operation of the oscillator and the optical memory designs. | en_US |
| dc.description | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 2005. | en_US |
| dc.language | eng | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Dalhousie University | en_US |
| dc.publisher | | en_US |
| dc.subject | Engineering, Electronics and Electrical. | en_US |
| dc.title | Active Mach-Zehnder interferometers with feedback. | en_US |
| dc.type | text | en_US |
| dc.contributor.degree | Ph.D. | en_US |
