Abstract: The present invention is an optical telecommunications system capable of setting up connections between particular pairs of subscriber stations. Illustratively, the Fourier components of radiation pulses produced in a first specific subscriber station are independently phase modulated in accordance with a predetermined code chosen so that the radiation pulse can be detected only in a second specific subscriber station.

Abstract: An optical system including an input pulse source for providing an input optical pulse the intensity of which is sufficiently high to result in stimulated Raman scattering; and a first optical component that spatially disperse the frequency components of the input optical pulse to produce a dispersed beam. A bandpass filter is disposed asymmetrically in the path of the dispersed beam to produce a modified dispersed beam; and a second optical component is disposed in the path of the modified dispersed beam to return the frequency components substantially to the spatially distribution of the input optical pulse.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention control, manipulate and tailor the shape of input optical pulses to produce substantially transform-limited output pulses which can be shorter than the input pulses.In embodiments of a first aspect of the present invention an input optical pulse is chirped, the chirped pulse is then passed through an optical component that spatially disperses the frequency components of the chirped pulse and partially compensates the chirp, the spatially dispersed frequency components are then passed through spatial amplitude and/or phase masks that control and/or adjust the amplitude and/or phase of the frequency components, and, finally, the masked components are passed through the first or a second optical component that returns the masked, spatially dispersed frequency components substantially to the spatial distribution of the input pulse while substantially completing the compensation of the chirp to form an output pulse.