Picosecond pulse characterization using nonlinear fiber propagation

Summary form only given. By taking advantage of the well-developed models for nonlinear pulse propagation in optical fibers, we indirectly measure picosecond laser pulse characteristics such as chirp and pedestal energy. Measurements of output pulse-width versus launched power through a short test fiber, along with the time band-width product of the launched pulse, are fed into a routine to find the best-fit pulse parameters. We apply this technique to characterize 3.5-ps pulses at 1.54 /spl mu/m from a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser. We first propagate the pulses through 200 m of test fiber to extract the parameters, and then confirm the fit´s accuracy by comparing predicted and measured propagation through 25 km of fiber.