All-optical wavelength shifting of microwave subcarriers by using four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier

We demonstrate all-optical wavelength shifting over 9 nm for two microwave subcarriers by using four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier. In our experiment, the RF spectrum is relatively unaffected by wavelength shifting and the resultant system power penalty is /spl sim/0.5 dB. Such a transparent wavelength shifter may be a critical component in WDM networks supporting both subcarrier multiplexed (SCM) and high speed digital transmission.