Group-velocity mismatch compensation for optical signal processing

Abstract

A compensated nonlinear optical frequency mixer for compensating the walk-off produced by group velocity mismatch (GVM) between interaction waves. The compensated mixer has a first mixing region in which the interaction waves participate in a non-linear optical mixing process and where walk-off occurs between the interaction waves due to GVM. The compensated mixer is equipped with a frequency selective coupling and time delay structure located after the first mixing region for eliminating the walk-off produced between the interaction waves in the first mixing region by guiding the waves in arms whose lengths differ by a re-synchronization length. A second mixing region is located after the frequency-selective coupling and time delay structure, such that when the waves emerge in phase from the frequency selective coupling and time delay structure they continue to interact efficiently in the second mixing region. The compensated nonlinear optical frequency mixer of the invention can by used to compensate for GVM in frequency mixing operations involving a material's χ(2) susceptibility.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.