Low power all-optical switch in a passive InGaAsP multiple quantum well waveguide

We demonstrate the use of resonant bandfilling nonlinearity in an InGaAsP/InGaAsP Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) waveguide due to photogenerated carriers to obtain switching at pulse powers, which can readily be obtained from an erbium amplified diode laser source. In order to produce gating a polarisation rotation gate was used, which relies on an asymmetry in the nonlinear refraction on the principle axes of the waveguide.

Extending the transmission distance of a directly modulated laser source using Bragg grating dispersion compensators

Comprehensive computer modelling has been used to investigate the dependence of dispersion penalty on transmission length in an optical communications system employing a directly modulated 2.5Gbit/s DFB laser source and an optimised fibre grating dispersion compensator. Two grating apodization schemes, tanh and Gaussian, have been compared. The 2dB dispersion penalty transmission distance is shown to be approximately 520km along standard monomode fibre after compensation with a 5cm tanh grating. This represents a great improvement over the 150km range expected for a similar uncompensated system.

Picosecond pulse source for OTDM/WDM applications based on arrayed waveguide grating

A novel technique for high quality femtosecond pulse generation from a gain-switched laser diode by means of pulse compression and transformation in a compact nonlinear fiber device, based on a dispersion-imbalanced fiber loop mirror (DILM) is demonstrated. This source allows the generation of extremely high quality pulses as short as 270 fs on demand with strong suppression of pulse pedestals. Spectral filtering in arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) converts the device into a compact multiwavelength source of high-quality picosecond pulses for optical time division multiplexing/wavelength division multiplexing applications.

New chiral E- and Z-isomers of the 1R,4R-2-arylidene-p-menthane-3-ones in induced cholesteric and ferroelectric liquid crystals

A novel pair of the E- and Z-isomeric 1R,4R-2-(4-heptyloxyphenyl)-benzylidene-p-menthan-3-ones has been prepared and the influence of distinctions in their molecular geometry on macroscopic properties of liquid crystal systems with the induced supra-molecular helical structure has been studied. The significantly lower helical twisting power of the chiral Z-isomer in comparison with that of E- one has been confirmed in the case of induced cholesteric systems based on 4-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl. The phase behavior and ferroelectric characteristics have been investigated for smectic-C* compositions based on the eutectic mixture of the homological 4-hexyloxyphenyl-4'-hexyloxy- and 4-hexyloxyphenyl-4'-octyloxybenzoates containing the novel isomeric chiral dopants. The spontaneous polarisation of the opposite signs induced by the isomeric chiral components has been revealed for the compositions studied. Distinctions in phase states, absolute values of the spontaneous polarization, smectic tilt angle and rotation viscosity of the systems obtained are discussed.

High-frequency acousto-electric single-photon source

We propose a single optical photon source for quantum cryptography based on the acoustoelectric effect. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) propagating through a quasi-one-dimensional channel have been shown to produce packets of electrons that reside in the SAW minima and travel at the velocity of sound. In our scheme, the electron packets are injected into a p-type region, resulting in photon emission. Since the number of electrons in each packet can be controlled down to a single electron, a stream of single- (or N-) photon states, with a creation time strongly correlated with the driving acoustic field, should be generated. ©2000 The American Physical Society.

Analysis and performance assessment of 6-pulse inverter-fed 3-phase and 6-phase induction machines

The paper describes a model for a 6-phase induction motor driven by an inverter operating in a 6-pulse (square wave) mode. The model is implemented and performance, in terms of torque, current, efficiency and pulsating torque, compared to the performance of a 3-phase motor (both sine and 6-pulse supplied). The models are verified experimentally, in particular the efficiency performance, and it is illustrated that the improvement in inverter efficiency when in 6-pulse operating mode may improve the performance of the overall system. © 2005 IEEE.

Power losses in small inverter-fed induction motors

This paper presents the results of experimental and simulation investigations of the breakdown of losses in a small inverter fed induction motor. Factors that are considered include the impact of skew, excitation voltage waveform shape and PWM switching frequency. Detailed finite element simulations of the motor performance are carried out for the various conditions, with simulation results compared to calorimetric test results. © 2005 IEEE.