Abstract: An arrangement is provided for transporting information from a central information distribution center (CIDC) to locations where such information is intended. Upon receiving a request for narrowcast information to be delivered to a node associated with a head end, the CIDC selects the requested information, generates an optical signal encoded with the requested information using information channels dedicated to narrowcast information transport for the node, and sends the optical signal to the head end via an optical fiber. When the head end receives the optical signal, the narrowcast information transport channels dedicated to the node are translated into subcarriers acceptable to the node before the requested narrowcast information is forwarded to the node.

Abstract: An arrangement is provided for transporting information from a central information distribution center (CIDC) to locations where such information is intended. Upon receiving a request for narrowcast information to be delivered to a node associated with a head end, the CIDC selects the requested information, generates an optical signal encoded with the requested information using information channels dedicated to narrowcast information transport for the node, and sends the optical signal to the head end via an optical fiber. When the head end receives the optical signal, the narrowcast information transport channels dedicated to the node are translated into subcarriers acceptable to the node before the requested narrowcast information is forwarded to the node.

Abstract: Arrangements are provided for an amplitude balanced optical amplifier. A combination of an optical preamplifier and a gain/loss variation modification device (VMD) is employed. The gain/loss VMD compensates the gain variation across different wavelength channels introduced by the preamplifier. The gain/loss VMD operates based on a gain/loss profile that is complementary to that of the preamplifier. More than one amplifier may be deployed. In addition, feedback control may be applied to either the preamplifier or the gain/loss VMD to dynamically control the performance.

Abstract: The ultrashort fiber laser with a dispersion-managed cavity. The laser is an actively mode-locked sigma laser, typically locked at a repetition rate of 10 GHz, driven by an external frequency source and actively length stabilized, and nearly 10,000 pulses circulate within the laser cavity. A Mach-Zehnder modulator is placed in a loop of polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber. The polarization state of light injected into the non-PM branch evolves in a random manner but is transformed into an orthogonal state by a Faraday mirror; linearly polarized light injected into the branch by a polarizing beamsplitter returns to the beamsplitter also linearly polarized but rotated by 90°. The cavity of the laser is composed of several fibers. The average dispersion Dav is anomalous and is approximately equal to 0.1 ps/(nm·km).

Abstract: Arrangements are provided for optical transport of data. A scalable data transport system has an optical transmission system having a reconfigurable bit rate; an optical transmission fiber in communication with the optical transmission system; and an optical receiver system in communication with the optical transmission fiber. The optical transmission system is adapted to modulate an optical carrier with a subcarrier-multiplexed RF signal, and the subcarrier-multiplexed RF signal comprises a selectable plurality of RF signals that can be selected to configure a bit rate of the optical transmitter and reselected to reconfigure the bit rate of said optical transmitter.

Abstract: An optical communication system has an optical transmitter, an optical transmission line in optical communication with the optical transmitter, an optical receiver in optical communication with the optical transmission line, and a dispersion compensator disposed between the optical transmitter and the optical receiver along the optical transmission line. The optical transmitter is adapted to transmit an optical signal that includes multilevel encoding. The optical transmission line causes a first dispersion of the optical signal and the dispersion compensator causes a second dispersion of the optical signal. The second dispersion at least partially cancels the first dispersion.

Abstract: Arrangements are provided for multi-format information optical transport. A multi-format optical signal transport generator is designed to generate a multi-format optical signal based on information in different formats from heterogeneous information sources. Such generated multi-format optical signal is optically transported via an optical fiber. Upon receiving the optical at a receiving end, a multi-format optical signal transport receiver decodes the multi-format optical signal to recover the information of different formats.

Abstract: Arrangements are provided for an amplitude balanced optical amplifier. A combination of an optical preamplifier and a gain/loss variation modification device (VMD) is employed. The gain/loss VMD compensates the gain variation across different wavelength channels introduced by the preamplifier. The gain/loss VMD operates based on a gain/loss profile that is complementary to that of the preamplifier. More than one amplifier may be deployed. In addition, feedback control may be applied to either the preamplifier or the gain/loss VMD to dynamically control the performance.

Abstract: An arrangement is provided for switching and routing large bandwidth continuous information from a consolidated information distribution center (CIDC). The CIDC generates an optical signal encoded with information of multiple channels carried by one or more dedicated optical carriers and sends the optical signal to a plurality of head ends via an optical fiber. When a head end receives the optical signal, it decodes the optical signal to obtain information intended for the head end from at least one optical carrier that is dedicated to carry the information desired by the head end.

Abstract: An arrangement is provided for consolidating equipment, services, and information and for distributing information from a consolidated information distribution center (CIDC) to a plurality of head ends using spectrally efficient transport. The CIDC generates an optical signal encoded with information of multiple channels aggregated through a multi-level encoding scheme and sends the optical signal to a plurality of head ends via an optical fiber. When a head end receives the optical signal, it decodes the optical signal in multiple stages to produce information of multiple data streams, from which desired data streams are selected.

Abstract: An optical communication system includes an optical transmission line with a pump laser port, a transmitter in communication with a multilevel coded electrical input signal and in communication with the optical transmission line, and a pump laser optically connected to the pump laser port. In the optical communication system, the optical transmission line and the pump laser are adapted to act in cooperation to amplify an optical signal traveling through the optical transmission line over at least a portion of a length of the transmission line.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for increasing the upper frequency range of an optical communication system, particularly one designed to communicate over, repeaterless, distances. A series of temporally interleaved optical solitons of different frequencies are generated, and transmitted and detected by wavelength division multiplexing. An adiabatic transmission line forms part of the transmission link, and serves to narrow the bandwidth of the pulses during propagation. As a result, one can generate the solitons with substantially overlapping spectra, thus increasing the rate at which they are produced, but, because of the narrowed spectra, still resolve them in frequency at the system's receiver.

Abstract: An optical receiver for receiving a signal from an optical fiber in a fiber-optic digital transmission system that includes a first low noise optical amplifier to amplify an input optical signal. The first low noise optical amplifier has an input 3 dB compression point lower than the desired system input sensitivity at a desired bit rate. A high power optical amplifier further amplifies the amplified optical signal, and has an automatic gain control for output signal leveling at a desired operation point of the transmission system. A high current photodetector converts the further amplified optical signal from the high power optical amplifier to an electrical signal that drives a retiming circuit without requiring further amplification of the electric signal.

Abstract: In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a ring laser configuration having a polarizer, and whose cavity loop has substantially no net dispersion, permitting mode locked pulsing of high intensity and large bandwidth. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a system using this laser to interrogate a plurality of arrays of Bragg gratings by use of both time and wavelength division multiplexing, increasing the total number of interrogatable gratings. In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, a system for interrogating one or more fiber Bragg gratings separated from the optical source by a dispersive optical fiber. As such a grating distends responsive to some measurand, its reflection frequency changes, and the traversal time of the reflection over the dispersive fiber changes, permitting inference of the measurand.

Abstract: This invention is a demultuplexer consisting on a sequential division of the data stream in a series of Sagnac interferometer amplitude modulators (SIAMs), wherein each modulator in the series is driven by a single microwave frequency derived directly from a radio frequency (RF) data rate clock, with the RF phase properly adjusted to extract a channel of interest.

Abstract: A system that uses all optical elements for transmission, regeneration and reception of solitons in point-to-point, broadcast, ring and multi-user trunk type communication systems. Soliton pulses from an optical clock source are modulated by optical data pulses in an optical modulator producing a modulated channel of data pulses. Several channels are combined by an optical multiplexer into a network optical bit stream. This stream is carried by an optical fiber and one or more of optical regenerators which recover the system clock and regenerate the signal with the recovered system clock rather than just amplifying the signal. Each of the regenerators can, in addition to regenerating the data, act as part of a data drop or insert node in a ring network where the node can synchronously remove data from or insert data into the stream. Intermediate nodes can include packet drop/replace nodes if the network is a packet type network.

Abstract: An optical intensity modulator which uses a Sagnac interferometer having an electro-optic phase modulator therein. An electric modulation signal is delivered to the modulator, and the latter is selected so that the phase velocity of optical and electrical signals are comparable in it. This causes the optical signal from one interferometer arm to copropagate through the modulator with the electrical signal, increasing interaction time with it, and causes the optical signal from the other arm to counterpropagate with the electric signal, reducing interaction time. In addition to phase modulating the optical signals by the electrical signal, the electro-optic effect in the modulator phase shifts the optical signals with respect to one another, permitting them to form a non-zero interference pattern, whose intensity corresponds to the electrical signal.

Abstract: An optical device includes a polarization section having a port, the polarization section being for receiving light at the port and for outputting light at the port with a state of polarization orthoconjugate to the light received at the port. The polarization section includes a reflector, a bidirectional nonreciprocal rotator and a bidirectional polarizer. The bidirectional nonreciprocal rotator has first and second ends, the first end being operatively coupled to the port. The bidirectional polarizer has first and second ends, the first polarizer end being operatively coupled to the reflector and the second polarizer end being operatively coupled to the second rotator end.

Abstract: A pulsed laser includes a polarization section having a port, the polarization section being for receiving light at the port in a selected state of polarization and for outputting light at the port having a state of polarization orthogonal to the selected state of polarization. The laser also includes an amplifying section having a port, a bidirectional amplifier, and a rotator-reflector, the amplifying section being for receiving light at the amplifying section port and for outputting light at the amplifying section port amplified with respect thereto, the bidirectional amplifier being operatively coupled to the amplifying section port at a first end and operatively coupled to the rotator-reflector at a second end.

Abstract: An optical fiber laser source comprising a polarization-maintaining loop and a birefringence-compensating branch preferably operatively connected to a length-stabilizing element is disclosed. The optical fiber laser source provides soliton pulse compression to reduce the duration of the pulses of the output pulse train to 1.3 ps or less.