10 Gbit/s data switched semiconductor laser amplifier nonlinear loop mirror

Error-free optical modulation of a regular stream of data pulses at 10 GHz by optical data at 10 Gbit/s is demonstrated using a semiconductor laser amplifier within a loop mirror. This is achieved without patterning despite an amplifier recovery time of several bit periods by positioning the amplifier near to the centre of the loop. This approach removes sensitivity to the optical polarisation of incoming data.