Signal evolution of an optical buffer based on the nonreciprocal silicon-on-insulator waveguide

Optical buffer can not only solve the competition problem of the same port, but also provide an adjustable buffer time for nodes to process the frame header. In this study, an optical buffer using the nonreciprocal waveguide composed of magneto-optical material was introduced. The dispersion equations and nonreciprocal propagation characteristics of surface magneto-plasmons in gyroelectric and gyromagnetic semiconductor waveguides under the external magnetic field were studied. By using the C-band gyroelectric semiconductor, the surface magneto-plasmons in the nonreciprocal frequency region could be localized near the interface between dielectric and metal in the waveguide system. The signal evolution, effective buffer time and readout operation in the buffer were also investigated.