Optical flip-flop using bistable vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers with anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide

Flip-flop operations of anti-resonant reflecting- optical-waveguide (ARROW) vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) under the influence of undesired high-order injection modes are investigated theoretically. Three types of flip-flop operations, namely: 1) flip-flop triggered by optical injection, 2) inverse flip-flop triggered by optical injection, and 3) flip-flop triggered by injection current, are to be considered in the studies. It is found that with the presence of ARROW, all three types of optical flip-flop are insensitive to high-order injection modes, and stable single-mode flip-flop can be maintained in the operation.