Adjustable repetition-rate multiplication of optical pulses using fractional temporal Talbot effect with preceded binary intensity modulation

• Published in: Optics communications Vol. 391; pp. 16 - 23
• Main Authors: Xie, Qijie, Zheng, Bofang, Shu, Chester
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.05.2017
• Subjects: Multiplexing; Nonlinear fiber optics; Optical Pulse; Talbot and self-imaging effects; Multiplexing; Optical Pulse; Nonlinear fiber optics; Talbot and self-imaging effects
• ISSN: 0030-4018; 1873-0310
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2017.01.002

We demonstrate a simple approach for adjustable multiplication of optical pulses in a fiber using the temporal Talbot effect. Binary electrical patterns are used to control the multiplication factor in our approach. The input ~10GHz picosecond pulses are pedestal-free and are shaped directly from a CW laser. The pulses are then intensity modulated by different sets of binary patterns prior to entering a fiber of fixed dispersion. Tunable repetition-rate multiplication by different factors of 2, 4, and 8 have been achieved and up to ~80GHz pulse train has been experimentally generated. We also evaluate numerically the influence of the extinction ratio of the intensity modulator on the performance of the multiplied pulse train. In addition, the impact of the modulator bias on the uniformity of the output pulses has also been analyzed through simulation and experiment and a good agreement is reached. Last, we perform numerical simulation on the RF spectral characteristics of the output pulses. The insensitivity of the signal-to-subharmonic noise ratio (SSNR) to the laser linewidth shows that our multiplication scheme is highly tolerant to the incoherence of the input optical pulses. •A new way for adjustable multiplication of optical pulses is demonstrated.•Multiplication factor is tuned by choosing binary electrical modulating patterns.•The influence of the extinction ratio in intensity modulation is investigated.•The effect of the modulator bias is analyzed through simulation and experiment.•The output performance is relatively insensitive to the input laser linewidth.