Femtosecond two-dimensional serial-to-parallel pulse converter using a squarylium dye J-aggregate film

Based on a time-to-space conversion technique, a two-dimensional serial-to-parallel pulse converter using a squarylium dye J-aggregate film is proposed. The squarylium dye J-aggregate film, which exhibits an ultrafast recovery of bleached absorption, operates as a large-area femtosecond all-optical shutter. The system is composed of a few simple optical components and enables conversion of temporally serial signals into multiple parallel outputs in one- or two-dimensional space. The serial-to-parallel conversion of 1 Tb/s optical pulses was demonstrated and different 4-bit signal patterns were successfully discriminated in one dimension. Also, 2 × 2 outputs were clearly observed as two-dimensional outputs using this converter.