Experimental investigation on high-speed switching characteristics of a novel symmetric Mach–Zehnder all-optical switch

We report the experimental results of a novel symmetric Mach–Zehnder (SMZ) all-optical switch. Although the switching is based on the band-filling effect in the semiconductor waveguide, the switching speed is not restricted by the slow relaxation time. We obtain fully switched, nearly square modulation, which is characteristic of the SMZ all-optical switch. We also achieve high-speed switching; the full width at half-maximum of the obtained wave form is 8 ps, which is only limited by the time resolution of the detection system.