Analog and Digital Optical Pulse Synthesizers Using Arrayed-Waveguide Gratings for High-Speed Optical Signal Processing

In this paper, analog and digital optical pulse synthesizers using high-resolution arrayed-waveguide gratings (AWG) have been developed. The analog type of optical synthesizer consists of an AWG with an integrated 45deg, curved-surfaced mirror, a 4-f lens system, and an optically addressable spatial light modulator. The effective frequency resolution is 14.5 GHz. A dispersion compensation experiment is successfully carried out and a transform-limited short pulse has been obtained. This digital type of optical synthesizer comprises 30 frequency separated channels with a spacing of 12.5 GHz, where each channel includes an amplitude modulator and a phase modulator. The rectangular-shaped pulse is generated with this pulse synthesizer, together with a 12.5-GHz-spacing, optical frequency comb. The synthesizer can generate an optical pulse with any waveform. Moreover, using periodic characteristics of the pulse synthesizer, a 250-GHz repetition rate pulse train was generated, in combination with an ultrawideband, waveguide type of Fabry-Perot electrooptic modulator.