Abstract: Techniques, devices, and systems for generating tunable dispersions to control or compensate for dispersions in optical signals by using wave-guiding grating elements with nonlinear group delays.

Abstract: Techniques for optically evaluating phase masks for fabricating waveguide Bragg gratings by measuring diffraction orders.

Abstract: The invention provides masks that form fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in optical fibers without stitching errors from re-scaling or re-positioning. The invention feathers the pixels of the mask lines by adding, removing, and/or displacing one or more pixels from the edges of the bars and spaces of the mask. The feathering of pixels will affect the FBG being written into the fiber. The feathering operates to shift the effective edge of the bars. This allows the achievement of much finer resolution FBGs than the pixel size of the mask.

Abstract: The invention reduces the effects of stitching errors from re-scaling or re-positioning in the fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings or the mask used in such fabrication. A first embodiment of the invention preferably uses characteristics of stitching errors to compensate for the stitching errors themselves. By increasing the number of stitching errors, errors caused by the stitching errors can be reduced. A second embodiment uses continuous writing of the desired pattern, wherein the desired pattern is snapped to a grid that can be written by the fabrication equipment. Using continuous writing eliminates stitching errors in the resulting gratings.

Abstract: Techniques and designs for producing tunable optical dispersion by using two fiber Bragg gratings with nonlinear group delays to sequentially reflect an input optical signal and by tuning at least one of the fiber Bragg gratings.