Time-to-space conversion of Tbits/s optical pulses using a self-organized quantum-well material

We report a time-to-space conversion technique using a material which has a large chi ((3))(similar or equal to 10(-6) esu) and a fast response time (<7 ps) at room temperature. The material is a self-organized quantum-well system consisting of inorganic well layers and organic barrier layers. We achieve a high conversion sensitivity even for nJ-order optical pulses. We demonstrate serial-to-parallel conversion of nJ-order Tbits/s signals at room temperature with conversion rates of 140 GHz. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)00448-4].