True time-delay line with high resolution and wide range employing dispersion and optical spectrum processing

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Photonics
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate time-delay control is crucial for advanced optical systems.
• Existing methods often face limitations in resolution, range, or complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a true time-delay line with simultaneously high resolution and wide tuning range.
• To develop an optical solution for precise temporal manipulation of signals.

Main Methods:

• Utilized tunable lasers and dispersion fibers for coarse time-delay control.
• Employed an optical spectrum processor to introduce a quadratic optical phase shift for high-resolution control.
• The quadratic phase shift simultaneously compensated for group velocity dispersion in the fiber.

Main Results:

• Achieved a coarse tuning range of 1717 picoseconds (ps) by adjusting the optical carrier wavelength.
• Demonstrated a high resolution of 0.67 ps by translating the symmetry axis of the quadratic phase shift.
• Successfully compensated for fiber dispersion using the proposed optical phase shift method.

Conclusions:

• The demonstrated true time-delay line meets the requirements for both high resolution and wide range.
• This technology offers a promising solution for applications demanding precise optical signal timing.
• The method effectively integrates coarse and fine delay control within a single optical framework.