All-optical timing restoration using a hybrid time-domain chirp switch

Abstract

We demonstrate a hybrid time-domain chirp switch (TDCS) in which thenonlinear chirper is an AlGaAs waveguide and the soliton dispersivedelay line is a polarization-maintaining fiber. The hybrid TDCS canrestore timing in a switching or transmission system, and when combinedwith an optical amplifier, it can act as an ultrafast, all-opticalregenerator for soliton pulses. The timing restoration concept isapplicable to other non-linear materials with negligible walk-off,and the acceptable time window can be tailored by adjusting the widthand intensity of a reference pulse.