Subpicosecond pulse generation using an electroabsorption modulator and a double-stage pulse compressor

We develop a practical subpicosecond pulse generator consisting of an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) and a double-stage pulse compressor. The pulse compressor is carefully designed so that the timing jitter and the pedestal level of compressed pulses are not increased during the pulse compression process. A 10-GHz 20-ps pulse from an EAM is compressed to a 400-fs pulse.