A polarization-independent and contrast-ratio-enhancing module for all-optical wavelength shifting using SOA's

We demonstrate a polarization-independent and contrast-ratio-enhancing all-optical wavelength shifting module using polarization-dependent SOA's. When comparing our robust module to a single polarization-dependent SOA wavelength shifter, we reduce the polarization dependence from 3.5-0.5 dB and the contrast-ratio-induced power penalty from 5-1.5 dB when upshifting over 19 nm at 1 Gb/s.