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Mode-locking is a useful way of generating pulse trains with high repetition rates and peak power, amd mode-locking lasers, emitting in the third telecommunication window are seen as particularly promising. Er-doped LiNbOsub3 is useful in the relaization of a mode-locked source, having good electrooptic properties. The fabrication of an efficient, diode-pumped, fully packagaged harmonically mode-locked laser is described

We present a pulsed and integrated, highly non-degenerate parametric down-conversion (PDC) source of heralded single photons at telecom wavelengths, paired with heralding photons around 800 nm. The active PDC section is combined with a passive, integrated wavelength division demultiplexer on-chip, which allows for the spatial separation of signal and idler photons with efficiencies of more than 96.5%, as well as with multi-band reflection and antireflection coatings which facilitate low incoupling losses and a pump suppression at the output of the device of more than 99%. Our device is capable of preparing single photons with efficiencies of 60% with a coincidences-to-accidentals ratio exceeding 7400. Likewise, it shows practically no significant background noise compared to continuous wave realizations. For low pump powers, we measure a conditioned second-order correlation function of g(2) = 3.8×10-3, which proves almost pure single-photon generation. In addition, our source can feature a high brightness of (npulse) = 0.24 generated photon pairs per pump pulse at pump power levels below 100μW. The high quality of the pulsed PDC process in conjunction with the integration of highly efficient passive elements makes our device a promising candidate for future quantum networking applications, where an efficient miniaturization plays a crucial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an interference experiment of spontaneous emission of light from two distant solid-state ensembles of atoms that are coherently excited by a short laser pulse. The ensembles are erbium ions doped into two LiNbO3 crystals with channel waveguides, which are placed in the two arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The light that is spontaneously emitted after the excitation pulse shows first-order interference. By a strong collective enhancement of the emission, the atoms behave as ideal two-level quantum systems and no which-path information is left in the atomic ensembles after emission of a photon. This results in a high fringe visibility of 95%, which implies that the observed spontaneous emission is highly coherent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear phase noise (Gordon-Mollenauer phase noise) can limit the transmission distance for phase-shift-keyed modulation formats. In this paper, the compensation of nonlinear phase noise by a midlink optical phase conjugation (OPC) is studied. A proof-of-principle experiment is presented showing an over 4-dB improvement in Q factor when OPC is employed in a differential phase-shift-keying (DPSK) system. Also, an ultra long-haul OPC-based differential quadrature phase-shift-keying (DQPSK) transmission experiment is studied to show the impact of self-phase modulation (SPM)-induced impairments, including nonlinear phase noise, in a transmission line. OPC results in a 44% increase in transmission distance when compared to a "conventional" transmission system using dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) for chromatic dispersion compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this work, WDM transmission with 40-Gbit/s per channel bit rate has been experimentally demonstrated over a 500-km link. Different chromatic dispersion conditions have been managed and in-line all-optical wavelength conversion has been carried out with a periodical poled lithium niobate (PPLN) device in a polarization-independent scheme. The link was obtained by connecting the fibers contained in an installed cable between Roma and Pomezia (25 km), encompassing single-mode (G.652) and high-end (G.655, non-zero dispersion with a particular value and flat curve for chromatic dispersion) fibers. Some 40 Gb/s channels were propagated in the link 500 km long and one channel was dropped from the link after 300-km propagation, wavelength converted, and added to the other channels for the next 200 km. The electrical data interfaces exploited a 4 × 10 Gbit/s to 1 × 40 Gbit/s MUX at the transmitter, along with a 1 × 40 Gbit/s to 4 × 10 Gbit/s DMUX at the receiver. Successful transmission of 4 channels, 200-GHz spaced, has been achieved over 500 km along both G.652 and G.655 links. No evidence of penalty comparing converted and unconverted channels has been reported. Transmission experiments of 8 × 40 Gbit/s, with 100 GHz frequency spacing, are also reported. No significant degradation has been observed in the case of the G.652 link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) all-optical transport networks is an interesting solution to increase the capacity of long-haul transmission systems and to solve the route-exhaust problems of metropolitan networks, driving down the cost of that traffic. Routing can be achieved using a transparent device able to select and interchange wavelengths, such as an all-optical wavelength converter. In this paper, an optical transport network over an embedded link located between Rome and Pomezia in Italy is emulated. The transmission has been realized along a WDM, 5×100 km long, dispersion managed link at 40 Gb/s. The in-line rerouting process has been controlled by means of an all-optical wavelength converter realized with a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide. Moreover, a polarization-independent scheme for the converter has been exploited to allow the in-line signal processing. This scheme is based on the counterpropagation of TE and TM signal components along the same guide and results extremely compact. In this paper it is demonstrated that wavelength conversion and rerouting add no penalty with respect to the simple transmission along the embedded cable. This result seems to be another step toward the feasibility of true all-optical networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reports a LiNbO[sub3]-based integrated optical network analyser for polarisation-resolved longitudinal structure characterisation of optical fibre Bragg gratings. By interferometry, the frequency-dependent complete reflectance Jones matrix has been measured and transformed into the time-domain impulse response. From the impulse response matrix the vectorial grating structure has been determined by inverse scattering. Local dichroic reflectivity and birefringence have been derived from this data.

In this article we report the main experimental results obtained in the framework of the IST ATLAS project regarding the transmission at 40 Gb/s over long terrestrial links, including the frequency conversion of a signal. We report the single-channel 40 Gb/s transmission over a link 500 km long with an amplifier spacing of 100 km, both with G.652 fibers and G.653 fibers by periodically compensating the chromatic dispersion with dispersion-compensating fibers. We report the single-channel transmission at 40 Gb/s, also, after the wavelength conversion of a channel with both PPLN and semiconductor optical amplifier devices. In particular, 500 km distances are obtained with PPLN wavelength conversion and 300 km distances with semiconductor optical amplifiers. Some results have been reported for electronic devices operating at 40 Gb/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first single-frequency Ti:Er:LiNbO[sub 3] distributed Bragg reflector waveguide laser with two thermally fixed photorefractive gratings as resonator mirrors is reported. The optically pumped (λ[sub p] =1480 nm,120-mW incident power) laser emits up to 1.1 mW at λ[sub s] =1561.1 nm. The threshold pump power is 70 mW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an FM-mode-locked Ti:Er:LiNbO[sub 3] waveguide laser as the fundamental source, wavelength conversion by cascaded χ[sup (2)] :χ[sup (2)] -difference frequency generation with a conversion efficiency of up to +3(-4.6) dB was demonstrated at a pulse repetition rate of about 2 (10) GHz. In addition, multi-channel conversion was demonstrated with a fully packaged wavelength converter using a continuous fundamental source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Starting from previous investigations in LiNbO[sub 3] bulk crystals, we studied the optical properties of Er[sup 3+] ions in Ti:LiNbO[sub 3] channel waveguides and investigated the waveguide-specific lattice environment of the Er[sup 3+] ions ("sites") caused by the doping method used and the presence of a large number of Ti[sup 4+] ions. For that purpose the method of combined excitation-emission spectroscopy was applied for the first time to waveguides at low temperatures. Comparing the spectroscopic results obtained for the green, red, and near-IR luminescence (lambda Is approximately equal to 550, Is approximately equal to 650 and Is approximately equal to 980 nm) under direct (450nm), 2-step (980nm), and 3-step (1.5 micro m) laser excitation, we found several distinguishable Er[sup 3+] sites which in terms of energy levels and relative numbers are similar to those in bulk material, but exhibit significantly different up-conversion efficiencies and strongly inhomogeneously broadened transitions. Moreover, we were able to distinguish isolated and cluster Er[sup 3+] sites by their characteristic excitation and emission transition energies and studied the respective excitation/relaxation channels. The cluster sites are most efficient in the up-conversion process, especially under 3-step excitation. Using accepted microscopic models for Er[sup 3+] and Ti[sup 4+] incorporation into the LiNbO[sub 3] crystal lattice, the site distribution and up-conversion mechanisms are elucidated and their consequences for laser applications in different spectral regions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the latest developments of diode-pumped Ti,Er:LiNbO3 waveguide lasers emitting at wavelengths around 1.5 μm. In particular, harmonically mode-locked lasers, Q-switched lasers, distributed Bragg reflector (DBR)-lasers, and self-frequency doubling lasers are discussed in detail. Supermode stabilized mode-locked lasers have been realized using a coupled cavity concept; a side mode suppression ratio of 55 dB has been achieved at 10-GHz pulse repetition rate with almost transform limited pulses. Q-switched lasers with a high extinction ratio (>25 dB) intracavity electrooptic switch emitted pulses with a peak power level up to 2.5 kW and a pulsewidth down to 2.1 ns at 1-kHz repetition frequency. Numerical simulations for both lasers are in a good, almost quantitative agreement with experimental results. A DBR-laser of narrow linewidth (≈3 GHz) with a permanent (fixed) photorefractive grating and 5 mW output power has been realized. Self frequency doubling lasers have been fabricated with a periodic microdomain structure inside an Er-doped laser cavity; simultaneous emission at the fundamental wavelength, 1531 nm, and at the second harmonic wavelength, 765 nm, has been obtained [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We demonstrate 160 Gbit/s return-to-zero (RZ) differential quarternary phase-shift keying (DQPSK) signal transmission over a 110 km single-mode fiber by taking advantage of mid-span optical phase conjugation (OPC). The technique is based on nonlinear wavelength conversion by cascaded second harmonic and difference frequency generation in a Ti:PPLN waveguide. Error-free operation with a negligible optical signal-to-noise ratio penalty for the signal after the OPC transmission without and with polarization scrambling was achieved. The results also show the polarization insensitivity of the OPC system using a polarization diversity scheme.

The efficiency of wavelength conversion by cascaded second harmonic generation / difference frequency generation (cSHG/DFG) in Ti:PPLN waveguides can be considerably improved by using a double-pass configuration. However, due to the wavelength dependent phase change by the dielectric folding mirror phase compensation is required to maintain an optimum power transfer. We experimentally investigated three different approaches and improved the wavelength conversion efficiency up to 9 dB in comparison with the single-pass configuration.

High-visibility interference of photon echoes generated in spatially separated solid-state atomic ensembles is demonstrated. The solid-state ensembles were LiNbO(3) waveguides doped with erbium ions absorbing at 1.53 microm. Bright coherent states of light in several temporal modes (up to 3) are stored and retrieved from the optical memories using two-pulse photon echoes. The stored and retrieved optical pulses, when combined at a beam splitter, show almost perfect interference, which demonstrates both phase preserving storage and indistinguishability of photon echoes from separate optical memories. By measuring interference fringes for different storage times, we also show explicitly that the visibility is not limited by atomic decoherence. These results are relevant for novel quantum-repeater architectures with photon-echo based multimode quantum memories.

We investigated the preservation of information encoded into the relative phase and amplitudes of optical pulses during storage and retrieval in an optical memory based on stimulated photon echo. By interfering photon echoes produced in a single-mode Ti:Er:LiNbO(3) waveguide, we found that decoherence in the medium translates only as loss and not as degradation of information. We measured a visibility for interfering echoes close to 100%. These results may have important implications for future long-distance quantum communication protocols.

All-optical wavelength selective single and dual channel dropping by sum frequency generation has been demonstrated in a periodically poled Ti:LiNbO(3) waveguide, which has two second harmonic phase-matching peaks. Less than -17 dB of channel dropping extinction ratio was observed with coupled pump power of 325 mW.

A thermally fixed photorefractive Bragg grating is written in a single-mode Ti:Fe:Er:LiNbO3 channel waveguide and used to develop a distributed feedback-distributed Bragg reflector coupled cavity laser with a second broadband dielectric cavity mirror. The optically pumped (lambda(p) = 1480 nm, P = 130 mW) laser emits in single-frequency operation as much as 8 mW at lambda = 1557.2 nm with a slope efficiency of approximately 22%. The laser wavelength can be thermo-optically and electro-optically tuned over 100 pm.

For the first time to the authors' knowledge, an integrated optical distributed Bragg reflector laser with a fixed photorefractive grating in LiNbO(3) is demonstrated. Sample preparation, grating fabrication, and laser characteristics are reported. The device is pumped by a fiber pigtailed laser diode (lambda(p) approximately 1480 nm) through the Bragg grating in a double-pass configuration, yielding an emission in the backward direction at lambda=1531.7 nm . The laser threshold is 40 mW; as much as 5 mW of output power has been obtained at 110 mW of launched pump power in cw operation.

Active mode locking of an Er-diffusion-doped Ti:LiNbO(3) waveguide laser by intracavity phase modulation to as high as the fourth harmonic (5.12 GHz) of the axial-mode frequency spacing is reported. The diode-pumped, pigtailed, and fully packaged laser with a monolithically integrated intracavity phase modulator has a threshold of 9 mW (incident pump power E(p) || c) and emits transform-limited pulses of >/=3.8-ps width and