All-optical tunable delay line based on wavelength conversion in semiconductor optical amplifiers and dispersion in dispersion-compensating fiber

We demonstrate an all-optical continuously tunable delay line system based on wavelength conversion in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), and group-velocity dispersion (GVD) in a dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF). The system operates, near 1550 nm, with a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) pattern at 10 Gb/s. A maximal optical delay up to 2700 ps is observed. The scheme achieves continuous control of a wide range of optical delays, wide signal bandwidth, nearly no pulse broadening, and very little spectral distortion.