Semiconductor Optical Amplifier In Awg-Star Network With Wavelength Path Relocation Function

We constructed a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) unit with a signal gain greater than 20 dB, CWDM bandwidth amplification, low polarization dependence, and a low noise figure. To confirm the applicability of the SOA in an AWG-STAR network with our proposed wavelength path relocation function, we evaluated the power penalty of the SOA unit in an experimental AWG-STAR network. We found that amplification by the SOA unit was effective in making wavelength path relocation more flexible by compensating for accumulated optical losses due to optical devices used in the AWG-STAR network.