Multiwavelength All-Optical Clock Recovery of Non-Return-to-Zero Data

A novel scheme of all-optical clock recovery from mutiwavelength non-return-to-zero （NRZ） data stream is proposed and demonstrated. The chirp induced by a chirped fibre Bragg grating and a semiconductor optical amplifier is used to enhance the clock. The clock is recovered after injecting the enhanced signal into the scheme based on the stimulated Brillouin scattering. The experiment is carried out and the dual-wavelength clock is recovered. This novel scheme can realize clock recovery of multiwavelength NRZ signal in the total wavelength range of 3.3nm. This clock recovery technology is transparent to the data bit rate and modulation format, also without pattern dependence.     

Design of Super-resolution Filters with a Gaussian Beam in Optical Data Storage Systems

Super-resolution filters based on a Gaussian beam are proposed to reduce the focusing spot in optical data storage systems. Both of amplitude filters and pure-phase filters are designed respectively to gain the desired intensity distributions. Their performances are analysed and compared with those based on plane wave in detail. The energy utilizations are presented. The simulation results show that our designed super-resolution filters are favourable for use in optical data storage systems in terms of performance and energy utilization.     

Demonstration of sharp switching from a power-symmetric NOLM and a polarizer

We demonstrate theoretically, experimentally and numerically that a steep all-optical transfer characteristic can be obtained from a power-symmetric NOLM, including a quarter wave retarder and highly twisted fibre, followed by a polarizer. We first develop a theoretical analysis to show that, if the input polarisation is chosen linear, then for a correct choice of the wave plate and input polarisation angles the transmission grows from zero with a 4 dB/dB slope as power is increased, two times faster than can be obtained with a NOLM alone. An experimental study is then realised, which supports the theoretical results. Steep switching is demonstrated for reasonably low peak power levels that do not exceed 8 W, less than one third of the NOLM critical power. In addition, using the same setup we demonstrate the possibility to obtain a sinusoidal transmission characteristic that cancels out for a particular nonzero value of input power, which can be easily adjusted simply through rotation of the wave plate and output polarizer. This setup would be very useful in the frame of optical pulse shaping and signal processing applications, among others.     

High-Order Ultrawideband Pulse Generation from NRZ-DPSK Signals

A simple method to generate ultrawideband （UWB） doublet and triplet from nonreturn-to-zero （NRZ） differential phase shift keying （DPSK） signals is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed configuration consists of a Mach-Zehnder modulator （MZM） to generate NRZ-DPSK signals, a section of single-mode fibre to form a microwave bandpass filter, which is used to generate doublet pulses, and a Gaussian optical bandpass filter （OBF）, which serves as a frequency discriminator to generate higher-order UWB pulses. A pair of polarity- reversed triplet pulses is achieved by locating the optical carrier at the positive and negative linear Mopes of the OBF, where the OBF detuning is 0.12nm and -0.2 nm, respectively. The spectra of the pair of UWB triplets have a central frequency of 5 GHz and 5.6 GHz, and have a -10 dB bandwidth of 6.9 GHz and 8.1 GHz, respectively. The UWB pulses remain doublet shape when the light wavelength is located at the peak of the OBF. The spectrum of the doublet has a central frequency of 5.6 GHz and a -10 dB bandwidth of 6.9 GHz.     

All-Optical RZ-to-NRZ Format Conversion with a Tunable Fibre Based Delay Interferometer

All-optical format conversion from return-to-zero （RZ） to non-return-to-zero （NRZ） is demonstrated with temperaturecontrolled all-fibre delay interferometer （DI） at 20 Gb/s. The operation principle is theoretical analysed with the help of numerical simulation and spectra analysis. Theoretical analysis results are consistent well with the experimental results. The format conversion can be achieved with power penalty of 0.54 dB and with output extinction ratio 20 dB.     

The filtering characteristics of simple grating optical low-pass filters

We studied the characteristics of a two-dimensional grating optical low-pass filter (GOLF) theoretically and experimentally. The modulation transfer function (MTF) of an optical system that consists of a lens and a GOLF is theoretically derived by taking all orders of diffracted beams into consideration. The MTFs of a two-phase chess-board-type GOLF and a three-phase GOLF were calculated for various phase differences and compared with that of a birefringent low-pass filter (BLF). The three-phase GOLF with nine center beams of equal strength removes most moiré fringes, but the resolution degradation is severe compared to the BLF. The two-phase GOLF with a phase difference of 180°, which is similar to the BLF in term of beam distribution, has a medium characteristic somewhere between those of the three-phase GOLF and the BLF. Samples of two GOLFs are made and experimented on by attaching them to a digital camera. The experimental result coincides with the theoretical development. Received: 31 October 2001 / Revised version: 4 March 2002 / Published online: 2 May 2002     

The modeling and the optimization of a grating optical low-pass filter

Through the one-dimensional analysis of the diffraction of a phase grating, we calculated the optical transfer function (OTF) of a phase grating. By a 0th-order approximation of the optical transfer function, we analyzed the feasibility of using it as a spatial frequency filter and obtained the structure of a grating for the optimum-filtering characteristics. The OTF of a phase grating as an optical low-pass filter is optimal when the incoming light is equally divided into three beams. The distance of those beams must be equal to the pixel size. The theoretical development was verified through an experiment. Received: 21 May 2001 / Revised version: 16 July 2001 / Published online: 15 October 2001     

Optical pulse shaping at moderate power using a twisted-fibre NOLM with single output polarisation selection

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that efficient signal shaping operation can be obtained at moderate power by using the transmission characteristic of a power-symmetric nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) including highly twisted fibre and operating through nonlinear polarisation rotation, when the circular polarisation state orthogonal to the input polarisation is selected at the NOLM output. By adjusting the angle of the quarter-wave retarder inserted in the loop, the phase bias of the transfer characteristic can be adjusted precisely to enable proper signal shaping for moderate values of input power, remaining well below switching power. The tolerance of the procedure to deviations of the input polarisation from the ideal circular case is investigated numerically. We demonstrate experimentally the capabilities of this setup for both power equalisation and extinction ratio enhancement. Finally, we show that this setup is also useful to shape ultrashort optical pulses from the relaxation oscillations of a DFB semiconductor laser. In comparison with other NOLM-based techniques, the proposed approach allows to reduce by a factor of 8-10 the peak power required for pulse shaping, for the same fibre length and Kerr coefficient.     

Single-SOA-Based Ultrahigh-Speed All-Optical Half Subtracter with PolSK Modulated Signals

A novel ultrahigh-speed all-optical half subtracter based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in a single semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed. This scheme only requires a single SOA and two input signals without additional light source, so it is quite simple and compact. Due to the polarization-shift-keying (PolSK) modulated signals being used in this scheme, pattern-dependent degradation can be avoided. By numerical simulation, dependence of the critical factors of the logic gate performance, e.g., the output power of logic 1 and extinction ratio (ER), on two input signals power is investigated. In addition, the effect of the gain polarization dependence of SOA is analysed.     

Packet error rate analysis of OOK, DPIM and PPM modulation schemes for ground-to-satellite optical communications

Packet error rate of OOK, DPIM and PPM modulation schemes are researched for ground-to-satellite optical communication systems. Analysis process is based on threshold detection for OOK and DPIM, and optimal detection for PPM. Packet error rate of these three modulation schemes are compared for both uplink and downlink, with consideration of the turbulence introduced intensity fluctuation in the ground-to-satellite laser link. Numerical results are given, and based on it, the advantages of PPM and DPIM are discussed, with the comparison to OOK. This work can be helpful for modulation scheme selection in the ground-to-satellite laser communication system design.     

Variable resolution with pupil masks

There are many applications in which pupil-plane masks are useful for point-spread-function (PSF) apodization or superresolution. A limitation of this technique is that once a mask is fabricated, the corresponding PSF characteristics are fixed. To overcome this drawback we introduce a technique for easily varying the performance of pupil-plane masks. This technique is based on the modification of the transmittance of each of the mask zones and, thus, can be implemented using a spatial light modulator or linear polarizers, e.g., we apply the technique to binary phase-only masks and we check that the figures of merit that characterize the PSF can be easily controlled. We study different configurations that allow us to modify resolution or peak intensity in a continuous way and we derive analytical expressions for these figures of merit.     

Effect of patterns and inhomogeneities on the surface of waveguides used for optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy applications

It has been found that patterns and inhomogeneities on the surface of the waveguide used for optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy applications can produce broadening and fine structure in the incoupled light peak spectra. During cell spreading on the waveguide, a broadening of the incoupling peaks is observed, while regular microstructures on the incoupling grating produce shifts and splitting of the peaks. A theoretical model, based on the zigzag wave representation of light propagation in a planar optical waveguide has been developed in order to understand the physical background of the observed effects. Numerical results are given for the different cases observed, and they are compared with the experimental data. Several possible applications of these effects are considered. Received: 10 July 2000 / Revised version: 9 October 2000 / Published online: 21 February 2001     

Design and application of three-zone annular filters

We design three-zone annular filters to be applied to optical storage system. The designed filters extend the depth of focus and realize transverse superresolution simultaneously, which will improve the performance of optical storage system greatly. And we propose two feasible schemes to improve imaging resolution of three-dimensional imaging system. One scheme depends on a complex filter formed by cascading of a three-zone phase filter and a three-zone amplitude filter. The complex filter converge the optimized transverse superresolution and the optimized axial superresolution of two different filters onto a single filter. It can improve the three-dimensional imaging performances greatly. Another scheme depends on a single three-zone complex filter. We propose a three-zone complex filter with phase shift 0.8π, which presents bigger design margin, better imaging quality and stronger three-dimensional superresolution capability.     

Optical tweezers of programmable shape with transverse scattering forces

We propose a non-holographic method to create line traps of arbitrary shape in the sample plane. Setting the phase gradient along theses lines gives control over the transverse forces acting on the confined particles. Phase structures, displayed on a spatial light modulator, are optically processed by a spiral phase filter and imaged onto the object plane of a microscope objective. The resulting bright line structures can be used to trap microparticles. Additionally, they exert transverse scattering forces, which can be exploited for inducing orbital motions or for creating “attracting” or “repelling” points, respectively. We give theoretical and experimental evidence that these scattering forces are proportional to the curvature of the line tweezers.     

Analysis of a polarisation-maintaining NOLM switch for OTDM applications

We propose a polarisation-maintaining NOLM switch design to be used as optical regenerator or wavelength converter in dense optical time-division multiplexed (OTDM) systems. The Sagnac loop is made of a piece of high birefringence fibre which is cut and cross-spliced in the middle. If pump and probe polarisations are linear and aligned in the co-propagating direction, the cross-splice ensures that the counter-propagating probe beam will be orthogonal to the pump, so that the parasitic cross-phase modulation between counter-propagating beams is minimised. This architecture also allows easy control of the optical phase bias, through squeezing a short section of the fibre, without any other modification of the setup. The performances of the proposed architecture are studied analytically and numerically, and compared with those of conventional schemes. It appears that, although the proposed setup reduces the interaction between counter-propagating beams only by a factor 3, it yields an extinction ratio improvement of a factor 10 or higher in comparison with conventional schemes. If there is substantial walkoff between pump and probe, a 10-fold reduction of the relative intensity noise of the emerging signal is also obtained when the mark ratio of the incoming data is variable.     

High depth of focus by combining annular lenses

In some technological applications, optical systems that produce a high depth of focus and superresolving transversal responses are required. In this paper we present a pupil design consisting in a phase pupil with binary amplitude, that added to a conventional optical system, can accomplish these goals. The pupil function is characterized by a complex amplitude that consists basically in combining two annular lenses with different focal length. Meanwhile the central portion of the pupil has an amplitude equal to 0, the external portion is modulated with two quadratic phases each one covering an annular zone. One of the phases corresponds to a convergent lens and the other to a divergent lens. The effect on the incident wavefront is to redirect the light in front of and behind the best image plane (BIP) producing a widened focus. The evolution of the transverse gain for the extended focus is also studied. Experimental results are given, and they confirm the extended focus and the superresolving behavior of the proposed pupil function.     

Optical broadband analog-digital conversion on the base of microring resonator

We propose the fast method of analog-digital conversion of optical signals by the use of waveguide ring resonators of micron size. The results of calculation are presented which allow optimization of the parameters of such optical analog-digital converter (ADC) for specific applications. Conversion operating speed of the ADC proposed is limited by the time of steady output signal establishing. For microresonator of 10 μm radius this time is about 10 ps. Analysis of the proposed optical method of analog-digital conversion shows that such optical ADC is capable to operate with the conversion frequency above 10⁹ counts/s in a broad spectral range. Optical loss in resonator reduces its switching time. However, the switching contrast also decreases. To keep the switching contrast constant it is necessary to increase discretization step of the analog signal power.     

Generation of optical vortices with arbitrary shape and array via helical phase spatial filtering

We report a method for generation of arbitrary shape and array of optical vortices by use of a superposition of coherent elementary vortices based on helical phase spatial filtering in spatial frequency domain. In this method, a helical phase spatial filter (HPSF) is placed in the spatial frequency plane of a 4-f imaging processing system. We demonstrated that the output field distribution represents the convolution between the input field and an elementary vortex field introduced by the HPSF, which results in a special shape or array of optical vortices determined by the “degenerate” properties of coherent elementary vortices and the distribution formats of the input field.     

Coherent imaging of extended objects

When used with coherent light, optical imaging systems are inherently unable to reproduce both the amplitude and the phase of a two-dimensional field distribution. This is because their impulse response function varies slowly from point to point, a property known as non-isoplanatism. For sufficiently small objects, this usually results in a phase distortion and has no impact on the measured intensity. Here, we show that the intensity distribution can be dramatically distorted when extended objects are imaged. We illustrate the problem using two simple examples: the pinhole camera and the thin lens. The effects predicted by our theoretical analysis are confirmed by experimental observations.