Method and apparatus for arbitrary spectral shaping of an optical pulse

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for stretching an optical pulse and shaping its spectrum. The method includes the step of: providing a an optical fiber element having a first long length fiber Bragg grating having a refractive index perturbation of varying periodicity. The optical pulse is launched into the fiber Bragg grating, wherein the Bragg grating reflects the pulse in a chromatically dispersed output. The reflected output is coupled with an optical modulator programmed to temporally modify the amplitude of the chromatically dispersed output to attenuate selected optical frequencies in a desired pattern. The apparatus for stretching and arbitrarily shaping the spectrum of an optical pulse with a desired wavelength resolution Δλres includes a routing optical device and an optical fiber element having a Bragg grating. The routing optical device routs energy between different waveguides, and has an input port to receive the optical pulse.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.