All-optical signal processing techniques with fiber based devices

Optical networks are fairly static and operate within well-defined specifications. The addition of new nodes or the upgrade of existing links demands an enormous expenditure. A cost-effective implementation of future optical networks should accommodate old static networks, as well as new highly-efficient networks. It also should be intelligent, self-managed, monitored and dynamically-reconfigurable and should be able to accept new nodes in a plug-and-play manner. Such devices allow surpassing some of the limitations inherent to electric devices by keeping the signal in the optical domain, avoiding electrical-optical-electrical (OEO) conversions. This filter is a good candidate for format conversion between double sideband modulation (DSB) and vestigial sideband modulation (VSB). DSB signals can also be used in the device, by format conversion to VSB using the FBG optical filter described above. Continuous tunable compensation between 0 to 350 ps/nm was achieved for a 40 Gbit/s NRZ signal. This interesting ability to apply different processing functions to different polarizations was successfully used in the development of advanced OCDMA systems, remote switching systems, wavelength converters, or optimized radio over fiber systems.