Optical tunable tapped-delay-lines using wavelength conversion and chromatic dispersion based delays

US8976445B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• University of Southern California · US

Inventors

• Alan E. Willner · Los Angeles, US
• Mohammad Reza Chitgarha · Los Angeles, US
• Salman Khaleghi · Los Angeles, US
• Omer F. Yilmaz · Palo Alto, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 4, 2013
• Grant date: Mar 10, 2015
• Expiry date: Mar 4, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02F2201/20
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Methods, systems and devices implement optical tapped delay lines. In one aspect, a device includes an optical tapped delay (TDL) including a wavelength conversion element, and a dispersive element, coupled with the wavelength conversion element, to impose a relative delay to an optical signal. The optical TDL can include a nonlinear element to combine signals in a phase coherent manner. The wavelength conversion element can include an optical nonlinear device such as a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) or a highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) with a high nonlinear coefficient and a low dispersion slope to effect four-wave mixing (FWM). The dispersive element can have a low dispersion slope, and the delays effected by the optical TDL can be tunable.