All-optical arbitrary demultiplexing at 2.5 Gbits/s with tolerance to timing jitter

Area of Science:

• Optical communications
• Nonlinear optics
• Fiber optics

Background:

• All-optical signal processing is crucial for high-speed communication networks.
• Nonlinear optical effects in fiber interferometers offer potential for signal manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate all-optical demultiplexing of a 2.5-Gbit/s signal.
• To investigate the use of a nonlinear fiber Sagnac interferometer for demultiplexing arbitrary data patterns.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a nonlinear fiber Sagnac interferometer.
• Employed two orthogonal polarization states for switching and switched pulse trains.
• Leveraged polarization dispersion for timing tolerance.

Main Results:

• Achieved full-duty-cycle all-optical demultiplexing of a 2.5-Gbit/s signal.
• Demonstrated complete switching of arbitrary pulse patterns.
• Identified a switching window allowing for timing errors up to 350 ps.

Conclusions:

• The nonlinear fiber Sagnac interferometer is effective for all-optical demultiplexing.
• Orthogonal polarization states enable robust switching of complex data streams.
• Significant timing jitter tolerance is achievable, enhancing practical application.