Frequency chirp control and compensation for obtaining broad bandwidth ultrashort optical pulses from wavelength-tunable lasers
First Claim
1. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising:
- a wavelength tunable-laser for generating frequency chirped pulses;
optical means arranged in an optical path of said wavelength-tunable laser, including means for compensating at least one order of frequency chirp time-dispersion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of, and apparatus for controlling and compensating for high order frequency chirp in a fast tuned laser. Optical means in the form of chirped Bragg gratings, preferrably in-fiber gratings, are used to compensate for one or more orders of the frequency chirp. Alternatively, or in combination with the optical compensation, an electrical compensation scheme employs integrators in one or more parallel compensation channels to create a composite compensation signal to compensate for specific order nonlinearities. The present invention allows for the generation of shorter bandwidth-limited optical pulses with spectra containing the complete tuning range of the tunable laser.
129 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising:
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a wavelength tunable-laser for generating frequency chirped pulses; optical means arranged in an optical path of said wavelength-tunable laser, including means for compensating at least one order of frequency chirp time-dispersion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising:
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a wavelength-tunable laser for generating frequency chirped optical pulses; electrical means for compensating at least one order of said frequency chirp time-dispersion, said electrical means comprising a source of pulse signals, at least one compensating channel including means for creating a specific order effect on said signal, and means for applying an output of said at least one compensation channel to a driving input of said wavelength-tunable laser.
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12. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp to obtain broad bandwidths ultrashort pulses, comprising:
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a wavelength-tunable laser for generating frequency chirped pulses; electrical means for compensating at least one order of said frequency chirp, said electrical means comprising a source of pulse signals, splitting means for dividing said pulse signals, a plurality of compensation channels, connected in series to said splitting means and in parallel to each other, each for creating a specific order effect on said signal, means for combining the outputs of said compensation channels, and means for applying said combined output to a dividing input of said wavelength-tunable laser. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of compensating frequency chirp to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses from wavelength-tunable lasers, comprising the steps of:
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generating a pulse signal; simultaneously applying said signal to a plurality of compensation channels; creating a specific order effect on said signal in each of said channels; combining the outputs of said compensation channels to create an aggregate nonlinear compensation signal; and applying said compensation signal to a driving input of said wavelength-tunable laser.
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20. A method of compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising the steps of:
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creating an optical path with a wavelength-tunable laser, arranging an optical means in said optical path of said wavelength-tunable laser, including at least one chirped Bragg grating having a chirp profile to compensate at lest one order of frequency chirp time-dispersion.
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21. A method of compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses from wavelength-tunable lasers, comprising the steps of:
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generating a pulse signal; supplying at least one compensation channel including means for creating a specific order effect on said signal; and applying an output of said at least one compensation channel to a driving input of said wavelength-tunable laser.
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22. A method of compensating frequency chirp to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses from wavelength-tunable lasers, comprising:
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providing a source of pulse signals; splitting said pulse signals into a plurality of compensation channels arranged in parallel to each other; creating a specific order effect on said pulse signals in each of said compensation channels; combining the outputs of said compensation channels; and applying said combined output to a driving input of said wavelength-tunable laser. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A method of compensating frequency chirp to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses from wavelength-tunable lasers, comprising the steps of:
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arranging an optical means in an optical path of said wavelength-tunable laser, including at least one chirped Bragg grating having a chirp profile designed so as to compensate at least one order of frequency chirp time-dispersion; and providing electrical means for compensating at least one other order of frequency chirp time-dispersion. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses from wavelength-tunable lasers, comprising:
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optical means arranged in an optical path of said wavelength-tunable laser, including at least one chirped Bragg grating having a chirp profile designed so as to compensate at least one order of frequency chirp; and electrical means for generating a compensation signal for application to a driving input of said wavelength-tunable laser for compensating at least one other order of frequency chirp.
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27. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising:
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a wavelength-tunable laser for generating frequency chirped pulses having a spectrum and represented by at least one term; an optical means arranged in an optical path of said wavelength-tunable laser for compensating said term of said optical pulses, including at least one chirped Bragg grating having a reflection spectrum overlapping with said spectrum of said optical pulses and also having a chirp profile to compensate at least one order of frequency chirp time-dispersion. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising:
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a wavelength-tunable laser for generating frequency chirped optical pulses; electrical means for compensating at least one order of said frequency chirp time-dispersion, said electrical means comprising a source of an electrical pulse signal having at least one term, at least one compensation channel including means for creating a specific order of correction on said term of said electrical signal, and means for applying an output of said at least one compensation channel to a driving input of said wavelength-tunable laser.
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31. An apparatus for compensating frequency chirp time-dispersion to obtain broad bandwidth ultrashort pulses, comprising:
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a wavelength-tunable laser for generating frequency chirped pulses; electrical means for compensating at least one order of said frequency chirp time-dispersion, said electrical means comprising a source of an electrical pulse signal having at least one term, splitting means for dividing said electrical pulse signal into a plurality of compensation channels connected in series to said splitting means and in parallel to each other, each for creating a specific order of correction on said term of said electrical signal, means for combining the outputs of said compensation channels, and means for applying said combined output to a dividing input of said wavelength-tunable laser. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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Specification