Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

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Optics Communications
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / o p t c o m

Ultrafast optical pulse shaping: A tutorial review

Andrew M. Weiner
Purdue University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, West Lafayette, IN 47907–1285, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents a tutorial on the field of femtosecond pulse shaping, a technology that enables generation
Received 28 March 2011 of nearly arbitrary, user defined, ultrafast optical waveforms, with control of phase, amplitude, and polari-
Accepted 30 March 2011 zation. The emphasis is on Fourier transform pulse shaping, the most widely applied technique. Selected pulse
Available online 15 April 2011
shaping applications are described, with specific discussion of coherent control of quantum and nonlinear
processes and of lightwave communications. Two new areas of pulse shaping research, namely, hyperfine
Keywords:
Ultrafast optics
spectral resolution pulse shaping and pulse shaping applications in ultrabroadband RF photonics, are
Pulse shaping discussed and illustrated with examples taken from the author's laboratory.
Femtosecond optics © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Coherent control
Optical signal processing
Radio-frequency photonics

1. Introduction We concentrate in this article on the most widely adopted pulse

shaping method, in which waveform synthesis is achieved by spatial
Ultrafast optics technology is now widespread. Pulses are routinely masking of the spatially dispersed optical frequency spectrum. A key
generated on the picosecond and femtosecond time scales, and active point is that because waveform synthesis is achieved by parallel
investigation of the attosecond time scale, based on highly nonlinear modulation in the frequency domain, waveforms with effective serial
frequency conversion of femtosecond sources into the soft X-ray modulation bandwidths as high as terahertz and above can be generated
spectral region, is under way. Although mode-locked lasers are by far without requiring any ultrafast modulators. We will be particularly
the most common source of ultrashort pulses, especially in the deep interested in pulse shaping using spatial light modulators (SLMs), where
femtosecond regime, other generation approaches, based for example the SLM allows reprogrammable waveform generation under computer
on strong electro-optic phase modulation and subsequent compression control. Another popular pulse shaping technology, termed the acousto-
of continuous-wave lasers, are attracting increasing attention as well. optic programmable dispersive filter, which accomplishes similar ends
The application space for ultrashort pulses has become extremely broad, but with a quite different implementation based on a co-propagating
including but not limited to high-field laser-matter interactions, acousto-optic interaction, is also discussed in this article. A review article
ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy, high precision frequency metrol- by Froehly describes a variety of pulse shaping techniques investigated
ogy and development of optical clocks, machining and processing of prior to 1983 for picosecond pulses [3]. A comprehensive review of
materials, nonlinear microscopy, optical communications, and radio- programmable pulse shaping written by the current author may be
frequency signal processing. Texts providing comprehensive treatments found in [4], while [5] provides a very recent survey of both
of ultrafast optics technology may be found, for example, in Refs. [1,2]. programmable pulse shaping technologies and applicable pulse
In this tutorial review article, we focus on pulse shaping methods characterization techniques. Other early reviews include Ref. [6],
that enable programmable reshaping of ultrafast pulses, or generation of which provides a broad account of signal processing techniques for
arbitrary optical waveforms, according to user specification. Pulse ultrashort pulses (including pulse shaping), and Ref. [7], which
shaping and processing technologies are complementary to ultrashort describes initial results on femtosecond pulse shaping using fixed
pulse generation and characterization methods and are now widely masks and related experiments on picosecond pulse shaping performed
applied, both in ultrafast optical science and in ultrafast technology. in the context of nonlinear pulse compression. Additional reviews focus
Examples of application areas for pulse shaping include pulse com- on specific application areas of pulse shaping, including coherent and
pression in the few cycle regime, dispersion compensation for fiber optic quantum control [8–10] and “information optics” for communications
communications, coherent laser control of quantum mechanical and pulse processing [11–13].
processes, and spectrally selective nonlinear microscopy, to name a few. Due to space limitations, several interesting methods for optical
pulse shaping and manipulation are not included in this article. These
include the so-called direct space-to-time pulse shaping technique
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]. [14–18] and a variety of pulse processing techniques that employ

0030-4018/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2011.03.084
3670 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

large amounts of dispersion and chirp, including temporal imaging identical to the input. Pulse shaping masks were originally imple-
systems based on clever combinations of dispersion and phase mented by using microlithographic patterning techniques [21] and
modulation [19,20]. An introduction to these approaches may be subsequently by using programmable spatial light modulators [4,23–
found in chapter eight of Ref. [1]. 25], acousto-optic modulators [26], holographic masks, deformable
The remainder of this article is organized as follows. Section 2 mirrors [27], and micro-mirror arrays. Most commonly, pulse shaping
introduces the basics of Fourier transform pulse shaping, including the is implemented using programmable liquid crystal modulator arrays
experimental arrangement and examples of waveforms generated via [4,23–25] that allow independent, simultaneous gray-level control of
this technique. Key ideas from pulse shaping theory are summarized in both spectral amplitude and phase. Using pulse shaping methods,
Section 3. Section 4 focuses on technologies for programmable pulse femtosecond pulses can be engineered into complex optical signals,
shaping, including both liquid crystal and acousto-optic spatial light almost arbitrarily and according to specification. A key point is that
modulators. Compared to this author's earlier review of programmable waveform synthesis is achieved by parallel modulation in the
pulse shaping [4], new material on liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) SLMs, frequency domain, which is achieved by spatial modulation of the
which offer radically increased numbers of pixels, is now included, as is dispersed optical frequency spectrum. Thus, waveforms with effective
discussion of acousto-optic programmable dispersive filters. Section 5 serial modulation bandwidths as high as hundreds of terahertz can be
begins with an overview of control strategies for pulse shaping and generated and manipulated, without requiring ultrafast modulators.
then surveys pulse shaping applications, focusing on examples in Fig. 2.2 shows several examples of shaped pulses generated in the
coherent control of nonlinear and quantum mechanical processes and author's laboratory. In each of these examples, experiments were
in lightwave communications. The applications selected represent performed using ~100 fs duration input pulses. Shaped pulses were
examples of “open-loop” pulse shaping control which lend themselves measured by nonlinear mixing with unshaped reference pulses (directly
to intuitive understanding. Sections 6 and 7 cover two frontier areas in from the laser) in a second harmonic crystal. Recording the second
pulse shaping, with examples drawn primarily from work in the harmonic output as a function of reference delay yields an intensity
author's laboratory. In particular, Section 6 concerns pulse shaping with cross-correlation trace [1], which for a sufficiently short reference pulse
high spectral resolution, emphasizing experiments in which pulse provides a good likeness of the shaped pulse intensity as a function of
shaping and frequency comb technologies are brought together. The time. This technique may be considered the optical equivalent of
combination of high temporal coherence provided by frequency comb sampling oscilloscopes widely used for measurement of fast electronic
sources and high temporal resolution control provided by pulse signals. Fig. 2.2(b) shows an ultrafast optical square pulse, in which the
shaping provides new signal generation and applications opportunities spectrum is patterned according to a sinc-function [21]. The intensity
not previously available. Section 7 covers examples of ultrabroadband profile exhibits an ~2-ps, approximately flat-topped region, with fast
radio-frequency (RF) photonics, a relatively new discipline in which rise and fall times consistent with the original 100 fs pulse duration. The
high-speed photonics technologies, including pulse shaping, aid in the overshoot and ringing arise from truncation of the sinc-function
generation and processing of RF electromagnetic signals with instan- spectrum at finite bandwidth and are expected. Fig. 2.2(a) shows a
taneous bandwidths beyond the capabilities of conventional electronics femtosecond “data packet,” in which the single input pulse is reshaped
solutions. Finally, in Section 8 we conclude. into a sequence of evenly spaced pulses, with eight pulses on and one
pulse missing [28]. The pulse spacing is approximately 400 fs,
2. Optical pulse shaping basics corresponding to peak data rate of 2.5 Tb/s, far beyond the modulation
capabilities of electronic approaches. An interesting point in this
Fig. 2.1 shows the basic setup for Fourier transform optical pulse example is that because the phase of individual pulses in the output
shaping, a widely adopted approach in which powerful Fourier waveform was not specified, it was possible to accomplish the pulse
synthesis methods are utilized to generate almost arbitrarily shaped shaping using manipulation of spectral phase alone.
femtosecond optical waveforms [4,21]. The key idea is that the Although control of both spectral amplitude and phase is required
incident femtosecond pulse is first decomposed into its constituent for general pulse shaping operations, it is the spectral phase that
spectral components by a spectral disperser (usually a grating) and a arguably has the most fundamental impact on temporal waveforms.
focusing element (a lens or a curved mirror). A spatially patterned Eq. (2.1) highlights an important and fundamental relationship
mask then modulates the phase and amplitude, and sometimes the
polarization, of the spatially dispersed spectral components. After the
spectral components are recombined by a second lens and grating, a
shaped output pulse is obtained, with the pulse shape given by the
Fourier transform of the pattern transferred by the mask onto the
spectrum. An important point is that this so-called 4f pulse shaping
arrangement is ideally free of temporal dispersion [22]; therefore, in
the absence of a pulse shaping mask, the output pulse is ideally

Fig. 2.2. Pulse shaping examples. (a) Femtosecond data packet. (b) ultrafast square
pulse. (c) Pulse position modulation resulting from linear spectral phase. (d) Chirping
Fig. 2.1. Basic setup for Fourier transform optical pulse shaping. and compression resulting from quadratic spectral phase.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3671

between frequency dependent delay τ(ω) and frequency dependent channels. In this case the pulse shaper operates on the spectral
phase ψ(ω) [1]: intensity only. Resulting devices such as spectral gain equalizers and
wavelength-selective switches are available as commercial products
−∂ψðωÞ and are deployed in lightwave communications networks — see
τðωÞ = ð2:1Þ
∂ω Section 5.2 for further discussion. Pulse shaping may also be applied to
incoherent light sources. Fig. 2.3(a) illustrates the setup of an
Fig. 2.2(c) gives data from experiments in which a liquid crystal experiment in which amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from an
modulator array was programmed for a spectral phase linear in erbium-doped fiber amplifier is manipulated by a pulse shaper [39].
frequency, ψ(ω) = A(ω − ωo). According to Eq. (2.1), this corresponds Although it is not possible to generate a deterministic intensity profile
to a uniform shift in pulse delay. The three traces shown in Fig. 2.2(c) from such a noise source, it is still possible to reshape the noise. This
correspond to experiments in which the slope of the phase function can be observed by placing the pulse shaper in one arm of an
(the A parameter) was set to be positive, zero, or negative, respec- interferometer — leading to the ability to shape the electric field cross-
tively. This results in output pulses that are either shifted many pulse correlation function between the original and reshaped noise. Fig. 2.3
widths earlier in time, that remain unshifted, or are shifted many (b–d) show interferograms measured with the pulse shaper either
pulse widths later in time [24]. A quadratic phase function, ψ(ω) = quiescent or programmed for different values of linear spectral phase.
B(ω − ωo)2, is another important case. According to Eq. (2.1), the The shape of the interferograms are all equal to the inverse Fourier
corresponding frequency dependent delay is linear in frequency. transform of the optical power spectrum [1], but are shifted along the
Fig. 2.2(d) shows an example in which the input pulse is intentionally delay axis according to the slope of the spectral phase, exactly as
chirped, i.e., it possesses an approximately linear frequency depen- described earlier for coherent pulses. Shaping may even be applied to
dent delay. By using the pulse shaper to apply an appropriate nonclassical light sources. Reference [40] reports an experiment
quadratic phase (equal and opposite to that present on the input involving an entangled photon source based on parametric down-
pulse), the pulse is compressed to the bandwidth limit [24]. An conversion. In this experiment the pulse shaper was used to achieve
important point is that the pulse shaper provides the flexibility to user defined reshaping of the two-photon wave function, which was
impose arbitrary spectral phase functions, including nearly arbitrary observed through an ultrafast coincidence detector implemented via
superpositions of quadratric, cubic, and higher order spectral phase. sum frequency generation.
This capability has substantial utility in compensation of dispersion
and chirp, with applications ranging from fiber optic dispersion
compensation to optimized compression of pulses in the single-
cycle regime and of high power pulses from chirped pulse amplifier
systems.
In practice, there are many variations in which the so-called 4f
pulse shaping arrangement of Fig. 2.1 is implemented. The setup is
also frequently implemented in a reflection geometry, in which a
mirror placed after the spatial mask directs the field back through the
first lens and grating [29]. The reflection geometry substantially
simplifies the optical alignment procedure for fiber optic applications,
in which light must be coupled with low loss out of and back into
single-mode optical fiber. There are also several choices of spectral
disperser. Although diffraction gratings are the most common,
arrayed waveguide gratings, virtually imaged phased arrays (VIPA
etalons), and prisms have also been used. Arrayed waveguide
gratings, a well known technology for multiplexing or demultiple-
xing different wavelengths in wavelength-division multiplexed
(WDM) optical communications, have been adapted to realize pulse
shapers on a chip based on multi-channel thermo-optic amplitude
and phase control [30–32]. VIPAs, optical elements that marry the
high spectral resolution potential of etalons with the spectral
disperser functionality of gratings [33], have been applied to realize
pulse shapers with very high spectral resolution (b1 GHz, much finer
than the tens or hundreds of GHz spectral resolution typical for
grating based pulse shapers) [34,35] — see Section 6. On the other
hand, in order to avoid the overlap of multiple diffraction orders,
prism-based pulse shapers have been utilized for applications
involving extremely broadband pulses approaching the single-cycle
regime [36,37]. Also for pulse durations below a few tens of femto-
seconds, it is common to build pulse shapers using curved mirrors as
focusing elements in order to avoid effects arising from the chromatic
dispersion of lenses [38].
For femtosecond applications pulse shaping is most commonly
used to operate on pulses derived from mode-locked lasers. However,
there are many other possibilities. For example, prism-based pulse
shaping has been exploited to compress multi-octave Raman
frequency combs into periodic waveforms approximately a single
optical cycle in duration [36]. Pulse shaping optics have also been Fig. 2.3. Pulse shaping with broadband incoherent light: manipulation of the electric
adapted for manipulation of WDM communication signals, in which field cross-correlation function. (a) Experimental schematic. (b–d) Electric field cross-
there is no fixed phase relationship between different wavelength correlation traces with (b) flat phase or (c–d) different values of linear spectral phase.
3672 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

single optical frequency component occupies a finite spot at the

masking plane. Fig. 3.2(inset) illustrates diffraction of a single
frequency field encountering a mask with an abrupt spatial feature;
however, the following discussion applies as well for masks with
gradual rather than abrupt features. The point is that unless the
focused spot is infinitely small, spatial variation in the mask, in
conjunction with diffraction, fundamentally reshapes the spatial field
of any particular frequency component. Furthermore, different
Fig. 3.1. Block diagram view of pulse shaping: idealized representation with perfect
frequencies impinge on different locations of the mask and therefore
spectral resolution.
experience different spatial reshaping. As sketched in Fig. 3.2, this
means that the field after the pulse shaper will be a coupled function
3. Results from pulse shaping theory of space and time (equivalently of space and frequency). The form of
the coupled space-time field is worked out in [42]. However, for most
A detailed theoretical analysis of pulse shaping is given in practical applications, one wishes to generate an output field that is
reference [1]. Here we will confine our discussion to a few important shaped in time in a way that is independent of the spatial coordinates.
points. At the simplest level we may envision pulse shaping operation This can be realized by using an appropriate spatial filter. In the
as illustrated in Fig. 3.1. An input pulse, with complex amplitude desirable case where the spatial filter actually selects a fundamental
functions in the time and frequency domains denoted ein(t) and Gaussian spatial mode matched to the unshaped field (this can be
Ein(ω), respectively, passes through a pulse shaper with spatial mask implemented by coupling into a single mode fiber for applications in
M(x). M(x) is taken to be complex to represent both intensity and lightwave, or by coupling into a cavity for applications involving a
phase filtering. The output field in the spectral domain is written regenerative amplifier), the shaped output field becomes [1,43]:
   
Eout ðωÞ = MðαωÞEin ðωÞ; ð3:1Þ 2 2
Eout ðωÞe ∫dx MðxÞexp −2ðx−αωÞ wo Ein ðωÞ ð3:4Þ
where α = ∂x/∂ω is the spatial dispersion at the masking plane. In this
description of the pulse shaper, the output spectrum is given by the where wo is the radius of the assumed Gaussian field focused at the
input spectrum multiplied by a complex frequency response function masking plane. A key point is that the masking function is smeared
equal to a directly scaled version of the mask. The approximation of according to the finite spot size. This imposes a minimum feature size
linear spectral dispersion is usually a good one for grating-based pulse that can be transferred from the mask onto the spectrum. This results
shapers with pulse durations greater than a few tens of femtoseconds. in a minimum spectral resolution, which is similar in origin to that of a
(Some new effects arising when the linear spectral dispersion conventional spectrometer. The time domain field, obtained via
approximation does not fully hold are discussed, for example, in inverse Fourier transform of Eq. (3.4), is written
[41].) The output field in time is obtained from the inverse Fourier h  i
2 2 2
transform of Eq. (3.1): eout ðtÞeein ðtÞ⁎ mðt=αÞ exp −wo t =8α : ð3:5Þ

eout ðtÞ = ein ðtÞ⁎mðt=αÞ ð3:2Þ

Now the output field is equal to the input field convolved with a
where modified pulse shaper impulse response function. The modified
impulse response function is equal to the infinite spectral resolution
1 jωt impulse response function m(t/α) multiplied by a Gaussian window
mðt=αÞ = ∫MðαωÞe dω: ð3:3Þ function. The finite spot size and resulting finite spectral resolution
2π
restrict pulse shaping operation to a finite time aperture.
The output field is given by the input field convolved with the These results are summarized by Fig. 3.3. Fig. 3.3(a) shows a sketch
impulse response function of the pulse shaper, which is equal to the of a spectrum with bandwidth B, which we assume represents the
inverse Fourier transform of the scaled masking function. An impor- bandwidth of the input pulse, and minimum feature size δf, which is
tant point is that for a transform-limited input pulse, pulse shaping limited either by the smallest spatial feature on the mask or by the
generally does not decrease the pulse duration, as bandwidth is not spectral resolution of the pulse shaper, whichever is smaller. Fig. 3.3
increased. (b) shows a sketch of a possible corresponding temporal intensity
In reality, the situation is not quite so simple. As sketched in profile, with minimum feature duration δt and time window T. The
Fig. 3.2, important effects arise because the field corresponding to any shortest temporal feature that can be realized is inversely related to

Fig. 3.2. Block diagram view of pulse shaping: more realistic representation in which spatial variation of the pulse shaping mask (inset at left) together with finite spectral resolution
gives rises to spatially dependent shaped fields.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3673

Fig. 3.3. Schematic view of pulse shaping (a) in frequency domain and (b) in time domain.

the total bandwidth, B∙δt ≈ 0.44, and the maximum temporal window through the apparatus with paths that are slightly shorter than (or
is inversely related to the finest achievable spectral feature, slightly longer than) the path taken without pulse shaping action. The
δf∙T ≈ 0.44. Here Gaussian shapes are assumed, and all pulse durations form of the coupled space–time field resulting from the analysis of
and bandwidths refer to full width at half maxima. The time-band- [42] is consistent with this view.
width product (BT) of the shaped pulse is equal to the number of
independent features that can be placed onto the pulse in either the 4. Programmable pulse shaping
frequency or time domains: BT = B/δf = T/δt. Higher time-bandwidth
product, corresponding to higher waveform complexity, is most easily The programmability feature of pulse shaping is very important,
attained for larger bandwidth, shorter duration pulses. allowing a single apparatus to generate a wide range of waveforms for
Fig. 3.4 illustrates an additional consequence of the diffraction different experiments or applications. As mentioned earlier, pro-
effects sketched in Fig. 3.2. For these measurements short pulses grammable Fourier transform pulse shaping has employed a number
centered around 1.56 μm were shaped using a pseudorandom phase- of different programmable mask or spatial light modulator (SLM)
only mask with a series of abrupt 0–π phase transitions [44]. This technologies, including liquid crystal SLMs [4,23–25], acousto-optic
results in generation of pseudonoise waveforms useful for studies of modulators [26], and others. A detailed review of several useful SLM
optical code-division multiple-access communications, in which technologies is given in [4]; a more recent survey of programmable
different users are assigned different waveforms (codes) in order to mask devices for Fourier pulse shaping is included in [9]. In this
share a common fiber optic transmission medium [13,45,46]. At each section we first review liquid crystal SLMs in the form that is now
location in the spectrum corresponding to a phase transition, a deep widely used for programmable pulse shaping. We then discuss liquid
notch is observed, with width approximately equal to the spectral crystal on silicon (LCOS) SLMs, which have been considered for pulse
resolution of the pulse shaper employed. These notches in the power shaping more recently, followed by pulse shaping using acousto-optic
spectrum arise because frequencies impinging on abrupt features are masks. Finally, we discuss an alternative programmable pulse shaping
diffracted out of the main beam and are lost upon coupling into an approach (not in the geometry of Fig. 2.1), termed an acousto-optic
output fiber following the pulse shaper. The simulated spectrum (programmable) dispersive filter (AOPDF). The AOPDF, which is based
based on Eq. (3.4) is in excellent agreement with experiment, as seen on co-propagating optical and acoustic waves, is now popular for use
in the figure. This shows that phase-to-amplitude conversion effects, with amplified femtosecond systems.
as evident in Fig. 3.4, are a fundamental aspect of pulse shaping and
should not be attributed simply to imperfections in the physical 4.1. Liquid crystal spatial light modulators
hardware.
A final point concerns causality in pulse shaping. In particular, a Fig. 4.1 depicts the basic layout of liquid crystal SLMs widely used
frequently asked question is how pulse shaping can create waveform for pulse shaping. This sketch shows a single layer device, which is
content that appears not only after, but also prior to, the unshaped useful, for example, for phase-only shaping [23,24]. As discussed
pulse — as evident from the pulse position modulation data of Fig. 2.2 below, double layer arrangements, which allow independent phase
(c), for example. The explanation is that the delay of the pulse in and amplitude shaping, are also common. The basic construction
propagating through the pulse shaper is not taken into account in involves a thin region of a nematic liquid crystal material sandwiched
measurements such as those of Fig. 2.2. In these plots the zero of the between two glass plates. The nematic liquid crystal consists of long,
time axis usually corresponds to the arrival time, at the location of the thin, rod-like molecules, which lack translational order and which
measurement apparatus, of a pulse transmitted through the pulse
shaper in a quiescent state. Therefore, waveform content created prior
to t = 0 does not correspond to light emerging from the pulse shaper
before it went in; it simply corresponds to light emerging with delay
slightly less than the large fixed delay of the quiescent pulse shaper.
Pulse shaping action may be understood as causing light to travel

Fig. 4.1. Basic layout of liquid crystal spatial light modulator used for pulse shaping.
Fig. 3.4. Spectral dips arising from abrupt π phase shifts in pulse shaping mask. These Here a single layer SLM is pictured, which may be used for phase-only pulse shaping.
results illustrate phase-to-amplitude conversion effects fundamentally arising from SLMs in which two similar layers are aligned and bonded in a two layer configuration
finite spectral resolution. are in common use for phase and intensity pulse shaping.
3674 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

may flow (similar to a liquid), but which maintain orientational order ing fan out for electrical connections; the conducting film on the other
(similar to a crystalline solid). As depicted in Fig. 4.2(a), the liquid glass surface is unpatterned and serves as a ground plane. A typical
crystal cell is fabricated so that in the absence of an electric field, the device may be configured to comprise between 128 and 640 pixels,
molecules are aligned with their long axes along the y direction. This with center-to-center pixel spacings on the order of 100 μm, and gaps
results in optical birefringence: light polarized along y (parallel to the of only a few μm between adjacent pixels. Fig. 4.2(c) shows an
long axes of the molecules) sees a larger refractive index than does example of the phase difference for y polarized light, relative to the
light polarized along x (perpendicular to the long axes). When an phase at zero applied voltage, plotted as a function of applied voltage.
electric field is applied, in the longitudinal (or z) direction, the liquid Above some threshold voltage, the phase changes rapidly at first but
crystal molecules tilt along z, as depicted in Fig. 4.2(b), reducing the eventually saturates as the molecules become aligned along the
birefringence. As a result the phase of y-polarized light transmitted longitudinal direction. The maximum phase difference shown in
through the cell is changed via electric field control. Fig. 4.2(c) corresponds to the minimum birefringence. An attainable
In order to apply the required electric field, the inside surface of phase change of at least 2π is required for complete phase control,
each piece of glass is coated with a thin, transparent, electrically con- which (for a given zero-field birefringence) defines the minimum
ducting film, such as indium tin oxide (ITO). One piece is patterned thickness of the liquid crystal layer. The phase vs. voltage response can
into a number of separate electrodes (or pixels) with the correspond- be calibrated and stored in a look-up table. In one common method for
calibration, one launches light polarized at 45° (relative to both the x
and y axes), so that the polarization at the output is transformed due
to the voltage-dependent birefringence. The fractional power trans-
mission through a crossed-polarizer is given by
 
Pout 2 ΔϕðV Þ
= sin ; ð4:1Þ
Pin 2

where Δϕ(V) refers to the voltage-dependent birefringence. Thus, Δϕ(V)

can be extracted by measuring the power transmission as a function of
applied voltage.
Generally a computer and multi-channel electronics are used to
generate a user specified set of variable amplitude drive signals to
achieve independent, gray-level control of all the modulator ele-
ments. It is worth noting that usually each drive signal actually
consists of a variable amplitude bipolar square wave, typically at a few
hundred Hz or above, rather than a variable amplitude direct current
(dc) level. The use of an alternating current (ac) drive signal is
required to prevent electromigration effects in the liquid crystal [47].
Otherwise the use of a square wave as opposed to a dc level does not
change the operation of the modulator, since the rotation of the liquid
crystal molecules depends only on the amplitude (not the sign) of the
applied voltage. Assuming appropriately designed drive electronics,
the masking function provided by a liquid crystal SLM may be held
very nearly constant. Hence, when used with high repetition rate
sources such as mode-locked lasers, successive pulses would be
shaped identically. The speed with which the pulse shaper may be
reprogrammed depends on the response time of the SLM, which is
ultimately limited by the dynamics of the liquid crystal itself to
milliseconds, and may be further limited by the control circuitry
utilized.
The single layer SLM arrangements of Fig. 4.1 are primarily used for
phase-only pulse shaping. Early versions of such SLMs were utilized in
the experimental examples shown in Fig. 2.2(c,d). By using a 45°
launch polarization, one can also use single layer devices for
amplitude shaping, but only in situations where one does not care
about accompanying phase changes. In order to achieve independent
amplitude and phase control, a two layer SLM design is commonly
used [25]. The layout is similar to that of Fig. 4.1, but with two such
SLMs aligned and attached together back to back. The long axes of
liquid crystal molecules in the first and second layers are aligned at
45° and −45° with respect to the x axis, respectively. When a voltage
is applied to a pixel in one of the SLMs, the liquid crystal molecules in
that pixel are rotated toward z, resulting in a phase modulation for the
component of light parallel to the liquid crystal axis in that SLM. In the
case where the input field and an output polarizer are both oriented
parallel to y, the output field corresponding to some specific pixel is
written [1,25]
Fig. 4.2. Side view of a liquid crystal pixel in a configuration typical for pulse shaping.    
Δϕ1 ðV1 Þ + Δϕ2 ðV2 Þ Δϕ1 ðV1 Þ−Δϕ2 ðV2 Þ
(a) No applied electric field. (b) Electric field applied in the longitudinal direction. Eout = Ein exp cos ð4:2Þ
(c) Representative plot of optical phase change as a function of applied voltage. 2 2
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3675

where Δϕi(Vi) is the voltage dependent birefringence of the ith layer.

The transmitted power depends on the difference in the birefrin- (a)
gences of the two layers, while the phase imparted depends on the
average of the two birefringences. Hence Δϕ1 and Δϕ2 can be chosen
to control amplitude and phase independently.
Dual layer liquid crystal SLMs have also been used for polarization
pulse shaping [48]. In this case the output polarizer is not used. This
configuration permits independent phase shaping of two orthogonal
polarization components, which means that the frequency-dependent
polarization is confined to a great circle on the Poincare sphere. More
recently independent phase and amplitude shaping of two orthogonal
polarization components has been achieved [49,50]. In these near- (b)
common path interferometer schemes, orthogonal polarizations are
mapped to different regions of the same spatial light modulator. With
careful balancing of the delays in the separate paths, realization of
general frequency-dependent polarizations states becomes possible.
Another approach uses a concatenation of four or more liquid crystal
layers and fixed polarization optics to achieve full spectral phase,
amplitude, and polarization shaping in fully common path configu-
ration [51]. The liquid crystal arrangement utilized in this latter (c)
scheme is closely related to a four layer liquid crystal geometry used
for compensation of polarization mode dispersion in optical fibers
[52,53], described in Section 5.2.

4.1.1. Large pixel count SLMs

The number of control pixels available in an SLM is limited by the
interconnect problem: it is difficult to bring more than a few hundred
separate electrical leads into the vicinity of the optically active region.
Fig. 4.3. Schematic illustration of geometries for (a) conventional, (b) one dimensional
An increased number of control pixels is useful in order to engineer LCoS, and (c) two dimensional LCoS spatial light modulators. The typical beam size of a
greater complexity into shaped waveforms or, in the case of two- single optical frequency component in a pulse shaping scenario is also shown.
dimensional SLM formats, to support novel functionalities.
Particularly interesting in this context are devices based on liquid
crystal on silicon (LCoS) [54–56], a relatively new technology aimed cluded in the illustration. According to [57], the phase vs. position (x)
primarily at microdisplay applications. LCoS SLMs are reflective is taken to have the form of a sinusoidal grating,
devices in which a single liquid crystal layer is placed directly on a    
silicon chip which applies drive signals to a pixellated electrode array 2πx
MðxÞ = exp i ΔðxÞsin + i ΦðxÞ ð4:3Þ
which is fabricated onto the silicon itself. A mirror is deposited on top Λ
of the silicon, above which are placed the thin liquid crystal layer and
a cover glass with ITO ground plane. A primary benefit of this When the grating period Λ is sufficiently small compared to wo , light
approach is that because the pixels are directly fabricated on the is diffracted into discrete orders with amplitudes determined by the
driving circuit, the pixel count can be very large. Both one dimensional phase excursion of the grating, 2Δ. This provides a mechanism for
(1D) LCoS arrays, with pixel count N104 [57], and two dimensional coupling power out of the reflected zero-order beam and hence
(2D) arrays, with pixel count N106 [58], have been demonstrated in controlling its amplitude. On the other hand, the phase of the reflected
pulse shaping experiments. zero-order beam is governed by the average applied phase Φ(x). Thus,
In conjunction with the increased available pixel counts, individual independent phase and amplitude control is achieved.
pixels of an LCoS device are typically much smaller than for a Experiments testing reflective 2D LCoS SLMs for pulse shaping
conventional liquid crystal SLM. Fig. 4.3(a–c) illustrates the geometry have investigated both zero-order and first-order diffraction geom-
of conventional, 1D LCoS, and 2D LCoS SLMs, respectively. For a well etries [58]. It was reported that the zero-order geometry resulted in
designed pulse shaper, the pixel size (e.g., 100 μm) of a typical the lower insertion loss, while the first-order geometry gave the best
conventional liquid crystal SLM would be comparable to spot size of extinction ratio. Similar diffractive schemes were also utilized in
any single frequency at the Fourier plane (2wo in Eq. (3.4)). However, earlier pulse shaping experiments employing 2D liquid crystal SLMs
the pixel sizes for the 1D and 2D LCoS devices reported in references that were optically addressed [59]. The 2D SLM format makes possible
[57] and [58] were 1.6 μm and 8 μm, respectively. Now any single a number of interesting new functionalities. These include: generation
frequency will usually have a spot size much larger than an individual of a set of independently shaped waveforms separated either in space
pixel. Accordingly, groups of pixels are used as “superpixels” to
control individual frequency components. Note also that for the
smallest pixel sizes, the inherent spatial resolution of the SLM itself
may also be significantly coarser than the pixel sizel, depending on the
spread of electric fringing fields.
Because LCoS only provides a single liquid crystal layer, a new
approach is needed to achieve simultaneous, independent amplitude
and phase control. Fortunately, the over-sampling evident in Fig. 4.3
(b,c) permits the formation of diffractive patterns by applying
different drive levels to the various pixels making up each superpixel. Fig. 4.4. Approach for pulse shaping control using phase-only LCoS SLMs. The
This concept is illustrated in Fig. 4.4, which depicts the phase pro- oversampling provided by the small pixel size allows for formation of diffractive
grammed vs. position in a 1D geometry. Three superpixels are in- structures, which enable independent phase and intensity control.
3676 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

or in wave vector [59–61], with application for example to multi- pulse shaping achieved (though care may be needed to account for
dimensional nonlinear optical spectroscopy [62]; rapid waveform acoustic attenuation and nonlinearities).
update by scanning the beam across different rows of the SLM [63]; Because pulse shaping occurs via diffraction from a traveling
and realization of significantly increased waveform complexity in acoustic wave, the mask inherently has a traveling wave nature. In
conjunction with a novel, two dimensional spectral dispersion geom- general, this is not suitable for pulse shaping applications involving
etry [64,65]. high repetition rate pulse trains from typical mode-locked laser
Finally, pulse shapers incorporating 2D phase-only SLMs have sources, because fundamentally the mask, and hence the shaped
been adapted to realize commercial wavelength selective switches pulses, vary in time. (For some special applications, however, the time
that are deployed in optical communications networks [66]. Here variation can be cleverly exploited, e.g., [68]). However, there is no
the SLM deflects input light by different angles in the direction problem for applications involving amplified femtosecond systems.
perpendicular to the spectral dispersion direction, allowing coupling The reprogramming time for an AO modulator is limited by the
into different output fibers under programmatic control. As usual in acoustic travel time across the device aperture. Typically this is on the
pulse shaping, different wavelengths may be switched independently, order of tens of microseconds, which is fast enough to allow the pulse
and arbitrary attenuation for each wavelength may also be achieved. shaping mask to be refreshed, or updated, on a shot-by-shot basis for
Although closely related to pulse shapers, in the lightwave industry KHz repetition rate systems.
such modules have come to be known by terms such as dynamic It should be noted that AO modulators produce a mask with
wavelength processors. Recently it was recognized that spectral phase continuous spatial modulation, which is in contrast to the pixelated
may be controlled simultaneously by appropriately varying the phase nature of conventional liquid crystal SLMs. Time-bandwidth products
in the spectral dispersion direction. This enables simultaneous of several hundred, comparable to that available with liquid crystal
wavelength selective switching and chromatic dispersion trimming technologies, have been demonstrated. AO based pulse shapers have
[67], a functionality that has also been introduced commercially. been demonstrated over a wavelength range from 260 nm [69] to
Further discussion of pulse shaping applications to optical commu- 5 μm [70], which supports spectroscopy applications in the ultraviolet
nications is given in Section 5.2. and mid-infrared. (In contrast, liquid crystal SLMs usually have
transmission limited to the visible and near-infrared bands.)

4.2. Acousto-optic pulse shapers 4.3. Acousto-optic programmable dispersive filters

Acousto-optic (AO) modulators have also been used for program- Acousto-optic interactions also enable a quite different type of
mable Fourier transform pulse shaping [26]. In an AO modulator, a programmable pulse shaper [71,72], shown schematically (in some-
radio-frequency electrical signal drives a piezoelectric transducer, what simplified form) in Fig. 4.6. The input optical field is launched
which launches a traveling acoustic wave into an appropriate with polarization along one of the principle axes of a birefringent
medium. Modulator action is based on diffraction of the light beam photoelastic crystal. In the absence of any interaction, light is extin-
from refractive index changes induced by the traveling acoustic wave. guished at the output by a crossed polarizer. An acoustic wave
The diffracted beam is shifted in frequency by an amount equal to the launched collinearly with the optical wave produces an additional,
electrical drive frequency (typically in the one hundred MHz range), periodic, stress-induced birefringence that couples light from the
ideally with an amplitude and phase that directly reflect the input polarization into the orthogonal polarization state (which is
amplitude and phase of the RF drive. As illustrated in Fig. 4.5, the transmitted by the polarizer). When the acoustic wave is driven by a
pulse shaping setup is similar to that of Fig. 2.1, but with the optical single electrical tone, the result is an optical bandpass filter, with
elements displaced to account for the beam deflection that accom- center frequency determined by the phase matching condition that
panies AO modulation. In the case of a modulated RF drive, the spatial the acoustic wavelength match the birefringent beat length. This
profile of the acoustic wave across the aperture of the device is a enables tuning of the optical bandpass frequency by varying the
scaled and delayed version of the temporal drive signal. Accordingly, electrical (hence acoustic) frequency. In this mode of operation, the
by using an electronic arbitrary waveform generator (which in this device is known as an acousto-optic tunable filter [73,74].
frequency range is a mature commercial technology) to drive the AO For pulse shaping applications the optical input is a pulse, and the
modulator, the acoustic profile can be controlled, and programmable acoustic wave is time-varying, corresponding to a superposition of
different acoustic frequencies [71,72,75]. In this mode the optical
pulse shape at the output can be shown [1] to be, approximately, a
scaled version of the acoustic spatial profile along the length of the
device. Because the acoustic waveform may be controlled in turn by
connecting a radio-frequency arbitrary waveform generator to the
acoustic transducer, programmability is easily achieved. In this pulse
shaping mode of operation, the device has been termed an acousto-
optic programmable dispersive filter (AOPDF) [71,72]. As in the

Fig. 4.5. Schematic setup for Fourier transform pulse shaping using acousto-optic modulator. Fig. 4.6. Geometry of an acousto-optic programmable dispersive filter.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3677

acousto-optic pulse shapers of Section 4.2, the traveling wave nature a desired and measured experimental output. In this scheme there is no
of the acoustic signal means that the pulse shaping function varies in need to explicitly program the pulse shaper. The adaptive control
time. Consequently AOPDFs are useful primarily as a compact, in-line scheme is less intuitive but is often viewed as especially suitable for
pulse shaping technology for amplified femtosecond systems. Because optimization of strongly nonlinear processes or for manipulation of
AOPDFs are constructed from materials similar to those used for the quantum mechanical motions in systems, such as molecules, where
acousto-optic pulse shapers of the previous section, there is potential knowledge of the Hamiltonian may be insufficiently accurate [80]. In
for devices spanning an analogously broad wavelength range. For such cases the adaptive control approach can be used to search for the
example, an AOPDF operating down to 250 nm in the ultraviolet was laser waveform which gives the best experimental result, such as
recently reported [76]. optimizing the yield of a particular photochemical product [81]. In
To illustrate, we consider typical numbers. Reference [72] reported such cases the adaptive control approach can be used to search for the
an AOPDF constructed from a 2.5 cm long TeO2 crystal, which has a laser waveform which gives the best experimental result, as judged
birefringent index difference of 0.04 and an acoustic velocity of according to a user-defined metric. Examples of experiments in which
105 cm/s. The device was designed for 52.5 MHz acoustic center fre- this adaptive control strategy has been successfully applied include:
quency, with 20 MHz acoustic bandwidth. This translates into phase laser controlled chemistry (e.g., control of reaction products in laser
matched operation over 150 THz optical bandwidth around a center photo-dissociation reactions) [81–84], selective enhancement of high
frequency of 375 THz (800 nm wavelength). The large bandwidth harmonic (soft X-ray) radiation from atoms driven by strong laser fields
implies capability to manipulate few cycle pulses. The acoustic transit [85], nonlinear pulse propagation in fibers [86], manipulation of energy
time defines the maximum rate at which the pulse shaping function flow in light harvesting molecules [87], and spatially selective
can be refreshed or updated. In this example, the acoustic transit excitation of plasmons in subwavelength metallic nanostructures
time is 25 μs, fast enough for pulse-by-pulse update of KHz class [88,89].
femtosecond amplifier systems. The maximum time aperture over
which pulse shaping may be achieved is determined by the different 5.1. Open loop coherent control for spectroscopy, microscopy, and other
optical transit times for waves polarized along fast and slow bire- applications
fringent axes. In this example the difference in transit times (hence
the pulse shaping time aperture) is 3.3 ps, resulting in a time- Here we will discuss a few examples of coherent control involving
bandwidth product up to several hundred. This is achieved only when the open loop control strategy, first explaining examples in spectros-
using very short pulses, for which it is essential to compensate the copy, then briefly discussing how similar principles find some
group velocity dispersion of the AOPDF material. This may be achieved applications in signal processing and in ultrashort pulse measurement.
either by programming the AOPDF itself or though external means. In our first example, we consider impulsive stimulated Raman
scattering (ISRS) [90,91] experiments, in which an ultrashort pulse
5. Selected applications excites coherent vibrational motion in a transparent, Raman active
material. In one popular experimental geometry, a noncollinear pair
Programmable pulse shaping has served as an enabling technology of pump pulses cross at an angle and excite a vibrational standing
for a broad range of applications, both in ultrafast science and wave that acts as a time-varying transient refractive index grating. By
technology. Examples include coherent manipulation of light–matter measuring diffraction of a short pulse as a function of probe pulse
interactions, spectrally (hence chemically) selective nonlinear mi- delay, one can monitor the time dependence of the vibrational
croscopy, phase compensation and pulse compression, single cycle coherence. A distinctive feature of ISRS is that both pump and probe
pulse generation, lightwave communications, and radio-frequency pulses should have durations short compared to the vibrational
photonics. In this section I principally discuss some examples in the period, which means that their bandwidths are larger than the
areas of coherent control and lightwave communications. In a later vibrational frequency. This is in contrast to conventional Raman scat-
section (Section 7), I present examples in radio-frequency photonics. tering performed with nondegenerate, narrow band fields.
Compensation of phase is a very important use of pulse shaping, Fig. 5.2(a) shows ISRS data from a molecular crystal sample [91–
which occurs in many contexts. These range from dispersion com- 93]. The signal consists of a sharp peak at zero delay, arising from the
pensation for transmission of fast optical signals over fiber cables as essentially instantaneous nonlinearity associated with distortion of
well as for wireless transmission of ultrawideband radio-frequency the electronic wave function, followed by a long tail corresponding to
electrical pulses over broadband antennas, to single cycle pulse optical phonons excited through ISRS. A few points are of note. First,
generation and optimization of pulses from chirped pulse amplifier the intensity of the ISRS signal is weak compared to that arising from
systems. the electronic scattering peak. Second, the ISRS diffraction intensity
Before going into specific examples, it is worth commenting on presents an irregular pattern that is caused by beating among several
two contrasting control strategies for programmable pulse shaping, simultaneously excited phonon modes. Fig. 5.2(b) shows a Fourier
namely, open loop control and feedback (adaptive) control, both of transform of the scattering data (with the electronic peak removed).
which are depicted in Fig. 5.1. In the open loop configuration, the The result consists of a complicated series of lines at frequencies
desired output waveform is specified by the user, and reasonable corresponding to sum and difference frequencies of vibrational
knowledge of the input pulse is also usually available. Therefore, the modes. Although such data clearly demonstrate the ability to excite
desired transfer function is known, and one simply programs the and monitor coherent vibrational motion, they also reveal some
pulse shaping SLM to provide this transfer function. If there is limitations: (1) the vibrational response is small, at least in com-
additional linear distortion present between the input and output parison with the electronic scattering peak which provides an internal
(e.g., phase aberration in a femtosecond amplifier, not shown), the intensity calibration; and (2) there is lack of mode selectivity — a
pulse shaper can be programmed so that its transfer function also short pulse excites any Raman-active mode whose vibrational
includes precompensation for such distortion. This open loop strategy frequency falls within the instrumental response.
requires precise calibration of the SLM. These issues may be addressed by driving the system with a train
The ability to program a pulse shaper under computer control leads of pulses [92,93]. In particular, when the vibrational frequency of a
also to an alternative adaptive control strategy [77–79]. In these particular mode is matched to the repetition rate of the pulse train,
experiments one usually starts with a random spectral pattern pro- that mode is selectively amplified. This is demonstrated by the data of
grammed into the pulse shaper, which is updated iteratively according Fig. 5.2(c,d). Fig. 5.2(c) shows the intensity profile of an approxi-
to a stochastic optimization algorithm based on the difference between mately 2.4 THz pump-pulse train, generated via periodic spectral
3678 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

Fig. 5.1. Control strategies for programmable pulse shaping. (a) Open-loop control. (b) Feedback or adaptive control.

phase filtering in a pulse shaper and timed to match the period of a clearly discernible. These results comprised a simple, early example of
specific vibrational mode. Fig. 5.2(d) shows the resulting ISRS data, the use of shaped femtosecond waveforms for control over molecular
read out as usual using a single probe pulse. Initially the signal is motion.
dominated by the crystal's electronic response to each of the pulses in Related coherent control methods have become popular to
the sequence. However, the vibrational signal builds up as the pulse enhance nonlinear optical spectroscopy and microscopy, e.g., in
train progresses. By the end of the pulse train, the ISRS signal is order to emphasize a spectral feature of interest. A recent review of
approximately as intense as the strongest electronic scattering peak. this field may be found in [10]. As one example, pulse shaping enables
Furthermore, in contrast to the single pulse experiments, the ISRS single beam, chemically selective nonlinear spectroscopy via coherent
signal after the pulse train has ended appears to be oscillatory at a anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) [94]. As illustrated by Fig. 5.3
single frequency, and the dephasing of the excited mode is now [10], femtosecond pulses are shaped and then focused tightly into the

Fig. 5.2. ISRS data from a molecular crystal sample. (a) ISRS signal using unshaped pulses, and (b) resulting Fourier transform. (c) Shaped pulse train used for multiple pulse ISRS
excitation, and (d) resulting ISRS signal.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3679

sample of interest. The nonlinear output signal is detected, and the

sample is scanned to form an image. For Raman processes the
amplitude q of a vibrational resonance (with frequency Ωvib)
impulsively stimulated by a shaped light field is given by


j
qe∫dωEðωÞE ðω−Ωvib Þ = ∫dω EðωÞjEðω−Ωvib Þ e j j½ψðωÞ−ψðω−Ωvib Þ
ð5:1Þ

where ψ(ω) is the spectral phase. Hence, a sinusoidal spectral phase

function (or other periodic phase function) with period Ωvib generates
the same vibrational amplitude as a bandwidth-limited pulse. This
property is closely related to the multiple pulse ISRS experiments
described above and provides a mechanism for mode selectivity,
which otherwise would be absent in experiments with broad
bandwidth, femtosecond pulses. An additional pulse shaping trick is
to block the short wavelength end of the excitation signal to support
background-free detection of the CARS signal, which is up-shifted
from the input spectrum by the vibrational frequency. Key advantages
motivating interest in such approaches include the simple in-line
geometry and the possibility to use pulse shaping simultaneously for
programmable dispersion control and to reduce the nonresonant
background.
Fig. 5.4(a) illustrates a concept for quantum control of two photon
absorption (TPA) in cesium vapor [95]. Unlike the previous example,
which may be understood classically, this concept explicitly depends
on discrete energy levels and is therefore fundamentally quantum
mechanical in nature. The central point is that when a broadband
signal with complex spectrum E(ω), centered around half of the two
photon transition frequency ΩTPA, excites a two photon transition
without intermediate levels, different pairs of field components can
mix in the TPA process, subject to the condition that the sum of their
frequencies equals the two photon frequency. In the weak field limit,
the wave function amplitude c2 of the upper level state excited by TPA
is given by
Fig. 5.4. (a) Conceptual view of two photon absorption to a discrete level with

j j j½ψðωÞ + ψðΩTPA −ωÞ broadband shaped pulses. (b) Conceptual view of second harmonic generation with
c2 ∫dωEðωÞEðΩTPA −ωÞ = ∫dω EðωÞEðΩTPA −ωÞ e
e broadband pulses. In the case of narrow phase matching bandwidth, the upconverted
ð5:2Þ spectrum is narrow compared to the spectrum of the nonlinear polarization (dashed
blue line).

Hence spectral phase shaping can be used to manipulate the

interference between two photon excitation pathways, leading to
coherent control of the two photon excitation probability. increases. For certain values of α, the TPA is extinguished; for these
Fig. 5.5 shows an example of experimental results from [95]. Here a pulses there is complete destructive interference between the various
sinusoidal or cosinusoidal spectral phase modulation was applied excitation pathways. On the other hand, for sinusoidal spectral phase,
onto the excitation pulse, and the strength of the resulting TPA was ψðωÞ = α sinðω−ð1 = 2ÞΩTPA Þ, the TPA falls off only slowly. For these
determined by monitoring fluorescence. For cosinusoidal spectral waveforms corresponding to antisymmetric spectral phase, the phase
phase, ψðωÞ = α cosðω−ð1 = 2ÞΩTPA Þ, the two photon yield drops off completely drops out from Eq. (5.1). Hence all excitation pathways
quickly and then oscillates as the amplitude (α) of phase modulation interfere constructively, and ideally one obtains the same two photon

Fig. 5.5. Data showing coherent control of two photon absorption to a discrete level via
Fig. 5.3. Schematic representation for single beam, shaped pulse, coherent anti-Stokes periodic spectral phase modulation. The two photon yields for cosinusoidal (symmet-
Raman spectroscopy (CARS). Reproduced from [10] with permission of ANNUAL ric) and sinusoidal (antisymmetric) spectral phase modulation differ dramatically.
REVIEWS, INC. (© 2009 ANNUAL REVIEWS, INC.). Adapted from [95], by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature, © 1998.
3680 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

yield as for the optimum, bandwidth-limited excitation. The slow roll- broad phase matching bandwidth). Similar to Eq. (5.3), the second
off with increasing α is attributed only to finite spectral resolution or harmonic spectrum is given by
nonidealities of the pulse shaper. These results convincingly demon-
strate the ability to manipulate interference between a multiplicity of ψ ω + ω′ + ψ ω−ω′
jESHG ð2ωÞj e∫dωjE ω + ω′ j
2
E ω−ω′ e
j
ð5:4Þ
two photon absorption pathways for creation of user selectable “dark”
or “light ” pulses.
Similar ideas apply to coherent control of classical second where ω is the frequency variable in the fundamental frequency band.
harmonic generation (SHG), with applications both to novel forms Peaks in the SHG spectrum are expected for frequencies 2ω such that
of optical communications and pulse characterization. Fig. 5.4(b) the spectral phase of the pulse is antisymmetric about ω. Approxi-
illustrates the concept for the case of narrowband SHG, in which the mately, we may say that peaks occur for frequencies where the second
phase matching bandwidth is much narrower than the spectrum of derivative of the spectral phase ψ″(ω) vanishes. In MIIPS this idea is
the exciting pulse [96,97]. As in TPA, spectral components of the exploited in a simple setup using a pulse shaper, second harmonic
input electric field (assumed to be centered at frequency ωo) sum in crystal, and a spectrometer. The pulse shaper is used to intentionally add
pairs to yield the second harmonic field centered at frequency 2ωo a known spectral phase ψMIIPS(ω), so that the total phase is ψ(ω)=
(which is assumed to be phase matched). For this narrowband phase ψpulse(ω)+ψMIIPS(ω), where ψpulse(ω) is the spectral phase of the pulse
matching case, the amplitude of the generated second harmonic without additional phase applied by the shaper. Although various
field is given by spectral phase functions are possible, a common choice is a sinusoid,
ψMIIPS(ω, δ) = α sin(γω + δ). A series of SHG spectra are recorded for
various values of the δ parameter, forming a two dimensional plot.
j
e2ωo e∫dωEðωÞEð2ωo −ωÞ = ∫dω EðωÞEð2ωo −ωÞ e j j½ψðωÞ + ψð2ωo −ωÞ
Because peaks occur approximately when the condition ψ″pulse(ω) +
ð5:3Þ ψ″MIIPS(ω, δ) = 0 is satisfied, and because ψMIIPS(ω, δ) is known, this
provides an estimate of ψ″pulse(ω), which can be integrated to obtain
which is exactly analogous to Eq. (5.2) for TPA. Therefore, the SHG an estimate of ψpulse(ω). The pulse shaper may then be programmed
yield depends on the spectral phase correlations of shaped input field. to compensate the estimated spectral phase, resulting in a pulse
This dependency has been exploited for decoding of spectral phase compressed closer to the bandwidth limit. This process is iterated on
codes applied to short pulse signals in experimental studies of optical the compressed pulse, resulting in measurements that are increas-
code-division multiple-access (OCDMA) lightwave communications. ingly accurate and pulses that are increasingly close to the bandwidth
In particular, it was shown that one can use the narrowband limit. Shaper-assisted pulse characterization methods such as MIIPS
SHG process of Eq. (5.3) to look for matches between a pair of are increasingly applied in systems in which a pulse shaper will be
phase codes, one applied onto the short wavelength side of the optical used anyway, either for pulse compression purposes or for more
spectrum and the other applied onto the long wavelength side general waveform generation. Some recent examples in which MIIPS
[96,97]. For appropriately selected code pairs, the coherent interfer- is used to guide pulse compression of few cycle pulses may be found
ence process yields approximately 30 dB contrast in generated second in [102,103].
harmonic power for matched (i.e., phase is antisymmetric about ωo )
vs. unmatched code pairs. Four-user, 10 Gb/s communications 5.2. Lightwave communications
experiments using such SHG-based decoding are reviewed in [46]. A
key advantage of the SHG-based approach for nonlinear processing is Pulse shaping ideas also have significant applications for lightwave
that by taking advantage of highly efficient, periodically-poled lithium communications. As sketched in Fig. 5.6, we may generalize our
niobate waveguide technology [98,99], individual bits can be decoded picture to consider various forms of broadband inputs, including not
with low error rate and high speed at energies corresponding to only only ultrashort pulses, but also continuous-wave lasers that are
~ 50 fJ per bit. Such lower power operation, which is unusual within modulated with data and multiple wavelength sources. For example,
the scope of nonresonant nonlinear optics, is essential for compati- in wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) communications, the
bility with high rate, multi-user lightwave systems requirements. input consists of multiple, independently modulated laser sources at
Related ideas form the basis for a technique for characterization different center frequencies. Because the various sources are usually
of ultrashort light pulses that has been termed the multiphoton mutually incoherent, manipulation is performed on a wavelength-by-
intrapulse interference phase scan method (MIIPS) [100,101]. In wavelength basis, but with no concern for phase between channels.
particular, MIIPS makes use of the relationship between spectral This is in sharp contrast to shaping of ultrashort pulses, where phase
phase modulation of an input pulse and the second harmonic coherence across the entire spectrum is an essential ingredient. Pulse
spectrum resulting from broadband SHG experiments (i.e., with shaping arrangements have been most applied for manipulating the

Fig. 5.6. Generalized view of pulse shaping, including not only ultrashort pulses, but also continuous-wave lasers that are modulated with data and multiple wavelength sources. In
the wavelength-division multiplexed optical communications community, signal manipulation based on generalized pulse shaping geometries is often referred to by terms such as
dynamic wavelength processors.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3681

power spectrum of WDM signals, e.g., to correct for the effect of nonuniformity of the EDFA gain results in 7.1 dB power variation
wavelength-dependent optical amplification or to achieve wave- across the optical spectrum, which can unacceptably impact signal-to-
length-selective optical switching (where a switch handling multiple noise margin in system operation. Fig. 5.7(b) shows the results
wavelengths may be programmed to impose different, independent obtained with the pulse shaper programmed to equalize the power
switching operations on different wavelengths). Recently, increasing spectrum. A much smaller power variation of only 0.7 dB across the
attention is being given to manipulation of spectral phase within spectrum is observed.
individual wavelength channels as well. Within the lighwave com- Wavelength-selective switches and wavelength-selective add-
munications area, pulse shaping arrangements and their adaptations drop multiplexers extend wavelength-by-wavelength intensity con-
are often now referred to by terms such as “dynamic wavelength trol to multiple input or output fiber ports. Fig. 5.8(a) depicts an
processors” and “dynamic spectral equalizers.” Although not shown in example of an early, relatively simple generalized pulse shaping setup
the figure, for applications such as wavelength selective switching, the with two input ports and two output ports [105]. An array of MEMS
apparatus may be modified to encompass multiple input and output tilt mirrors are used to control which input port is connected to which
fibers. A common theme is that in all cases, one manipulates light output port. The key point is that because the wavelength channels
frequency by frequency, independently and in parallel. One contrast are separated, with each channel focused onto its own tilt mirror, the
between pulse shaping applications in lightwave communications input–output connection can be programmed independently for each
and in ultrafast science centers around polarization: while the input of the wavelengths. Fig. 5.8(b) shows an example of wavelength-by-
polarization is usually well known and stable in ultrafast science wavelength switching action, in which several of the input wave-
settings, the polarization of light transmitted through fiber cables is lengths have been dropped. An earlier version of wavelength-
usually unknown and at least slowly time-varying. For this reason selective switching with two output fibers, based on a liquid crystal
lightwave modules inspired by pulse shaping may be constructed spatial light modulator, was reported in [106]. More recent examples
using a polarization diversity scheme, in which the input light is split of wavelength selective switches, which use 2D liquid crystal SLMs to
into two orthogonal polarization components which are manipulated achieve switching between larger number of ports while also
separately and then recombined to form the output signal. providing intrachannel spectral phase control, were discussed briefly
Fig. 5.7 illustrates spectral gain equalization using a pulse shaper in Section 4.1.1 [66,67].
actuated by a MEMS micro-etalon structure that acts as an intensity In the following we concentrate on spectral phase control. This can
spatial light modulator [104]. In this experiment 36 WDM channels be used for compensation of chromatic dispersion, which broadens the
spread over 30 nm in the lightwave C band were amplified in an durations of signals sent through fiber optic links. Unless compensated,
erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). As evident from Fig. 5.7(a), the such broadening leads to intersymbol interference which limits the bit
rates of high-speed optical fiber communication links. Physically,
chromatic dispersion represents frequency dependent group velocity
and frequency dependent delay. As expressed in Eq. (2.1), the
frequency dependent delay τ(ω) is fundamentally related to the
derivative of the frequency dependent phase ψ(ω). Hence, one can
compensate for the effect of dispersion by programming a pulse shaper

Fig. 5.7. Spectral gain equalization using a pulse shaper actuated by a MEMS structure Fig. 5.8. (a) Example of generalized pulse shaping setup with two input and two output
that acts as an intensity spatial light modulator. Reprinted with permission from [104] ports, and (b) data representing wavelength-by-wavelength optical switching action
(© 2004 IEEE). using this setup. Reprinted with permission from [105] (© 1999 IEEE).
3682 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

to impose a spectral phase function equal and opposite to that specified

in Eq. (2.1).
A block diagram of experiments demonstrating such dispersion
compensation is shown in Fig. 5.9. Here a programmable pulse shaper
was used to complement fiber dispersion compensation techniques in
propagating sub-500 fs pulses over optical fiber links ranging from
3 km in early experiments to 50 km most recently [107–109]. In all
cases the link consisted of a length of standard single-mode fiber
(SMF) concatenated to an approximately matching length of disper-
sion compensating fiber (DCF). Since SMF and DCF have dispersion
with opposite signs at the operating wavelength, the fiber lengths can
be adjusted to cancel all of the lowest order dispersion (i.e., phase
varying quadratically with frequency). Remaining pulse distortions,
arising for example due to uncompensated cubic spectral phase
(dispersion slope in the terminology of fiber optics), are corrected
by using the pulse shaper as a spectral phase equalizer. In the ex-
periments in [108], ~ 460 fs input pulses at 1542 nm center wave-
length are first broadened ten thousand times to ~5 ns in propagating
through 50 km of SMF, then recompressed by the DCF to ~ 14 ps , as
shown in Fig. 5.10(a). Although compression by the DCF is roughly
99.7% effective, the residual pulse broadening is still a factor of thirty
relative to the bandwidth limit. Most of this broadening is due to a
mismatch in fiber lengths, amounting to 120 m of SMF. This can be
compensated by programming the pulse shaper for an appropriate
quadratic spectral phase, which further compresses the pulse to
within a factor of two of the original duration. Compensation of
the residual dispersion is achieved by programming the shaper to
superimpose an appropriate additional cubic phase variation. An
unwrapped view of the total applied phase, comprising almost
100 rad of phase variation, is shown in the inset to Fig. 5.10(a). This
leads to a completely recompressed pulse with essentially the original
pulse duration (~ 470 fs) and no observable distortion, Fig. 5.10(b).
Thus, in these experiments all-fiber techniques are used for coarse
dispersion compensation, while a programmable pulse shaper is
used as a spectral phase equalizer to fine tune away any remaining Fig. 5.10. Data from experiments in which b 500-fs pulses are transmitted through
dispersion. 50 km of standard single-mode fiber, with subsequent compression using dispersion
In a completely analogous fashion, programmable pulse shapers compensating fiber. (a) Intensity profiles of pulses after various degrees of further
are now used extensively in compensation of residual dispersion in compression using the pulse shaper for spectral phase equalization. Inset: applied
spectral phase profile for full compression. (b) Comparison of pulses before and after
femtosecond chirped pulse amplifier systems and in few-cycle pulse
transmission. With spectral phase equalization, the pulse duration is preserved.
generation.
It is worth noting that although the unwrapped spectral phase
pictured in Fig. 5.10(a) is quite large, liquid crystal SLMs are in fact compact implementation, e.g., [111]. Applications of such tunable
limited to relatively small phase shifts, typically a few π. The actual dispersion compensation include replacing various lengths of conven-
phase function is applied with phase wraps that occur modulo 2π, tional dispersion-compensating fibers in 10-Gb/s systems and com-
which fundamentally does not change the pulse shaping operation. pensating residual dispersion after the DCF to meet the tight dispersion
However, in the case of SLMs with finite pixel size, a staircase approx- tolerances required in 40-Gb/s and above based networks. In an
imation to the desired phase function is obtained. Provided that example from our lab, programmable compensation of a continuous-
several SLM pixels are available for each 2π phase variation, the wave laser modulated at 10 Gb/s and transmitted through up to 240 km
desired phase is well approximated, and high quality pulse shaping of SMF was achieved [34]. Because the spectral resolution of grating-
(or in this example, dispersion compensation) is possible. Effects based pulse shapers is too coarse to conveniently operate within the
related to finite pixel size are discussed, for example, in [1,24]. ~10 GHz optical bandwidth of the modulated data, a hyperfine-
In addition to experiments with ultrashort pulses, tunable disper- resolution pulse shaper was used for this work. The apparatus was
sion compensation of conventional laser sources modulated with data constructed using a virtually-imaged phased-array (VIPA) [33] spectral
in the range 10–40 Gb/s has also been demonstrated via pulse shaping disperser, which enabled programmable pulse shaping over a 50 GHz
[34,110–112]. In some works, bulk grating spectral dispersers have free spectral range with spectral resolution of approximately 700 MHz.
been replaced with integrated wavelength grating router dispersers for Because the fractional dispersive pulse broadening was much less than

Fig. 5.9. Schematic view of fiber dispersion compensation using a pulse shaper as a programmable spectral phase equalizer. Similar schemes involving pulse shapers are used to
compensate residual spectral phase in chirped pulse amplifier systems and few cycle pulse compression experiments.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3683

in the sub-500 fs pulse experiments described earlier, the time- viewpoint. However, when PMD is large (distortions significantly
bandwidth product supported by the pulse shaper was sufficient for greater than the pulse duration), it produces complex pulse distor-
full compensation of the dispersion, without the need for DCF. An tions involving a frequency-dependent scrambling of the optical
additional attractive feature of many pulse shaper based tunable polarization state as well as frequency- and polarization-dependent
dispersion compensators is the ability to accomplish dispersion com- delays. In this regime the Taylor series expansion breaks down; and an
pensation simultaneously (in some cases independently) across mul- all-order PMD description, in which the signal experiences arbitrary
tiple wavelength channels. frequency-dependent delay and polarization distortions, is necessary.
Pulse shaping has also been explored for compensation of This view maps nicely onto a pulse shaping approach. Consequently,
polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), a vector distortion arising in work in our laboratory, we have adopted this all-order view and
from small and essentially random birefringences in single-mode have sought to sense and correct the frequency dependent polariza-
optical fiber [113,114]. Some of the basics of PMD may be understood tion state and spectral phase, in parallel and on a wavelength by
on the basis of a random wave plate model, illustrated in Fig. 5.11(a). wavelength basis [52,53,115–117].
Here each wave plate is assumed to have a differential delay Δτ An example of our experimental results is shown in Fig. 5.11 [52].
between its birefringent axes, and different wave plates are assumed Here clean input pulses, with ~800 fs duration and spectral content
to have random rotation angles. The delay experienced by an input from 1545 to 1555 nm, are coupled into a home-made PMD emulator
signal depends on the input polarization and experiences essentially a with 5.5 ps mean differential group delay. The input pulse prior to the
random walk process. p The
ffiffiffiffi mean differential group delay observed at emulator has a frequency-independent polarization, corresponding to
the output scales as Δτ N, where N is the number of wave plates. This a single point on the Poincare sphere (not shown). After the emulator
corresponds to the finding that in real fibers, the mean differential the state of polarization exhibits a complex, frequency dependent
group delay contributed by PMD scales as the square root of fiber trajectory on the Poincare sphere, Fig. 5.11(b), which is characteristic
length. PMD-induced impairments of optical fiber transmission of PMD in the all-order regime. Fig. 5.11(c) shows that approximately
systems become especially serious for symbol rates of 40 Gbaud/s equal power is present on orthogonal polarizations; the waveforms
and higher. for the two polarizations are completely different, although both are
For small PMD (distortions small compared to the pulse duration), spread over a similar (N10 ps) time aperture. Compensation of these
PMD is usually treated in a Taylor series expansion framework in effects is accomplished using a pulse shaper provisioned with a
optical frequency. Most work on PMD compensators has adopted this custom four layer liquid crystal modulator array, configured such that
full correction of frequency-dependent polarization and phase
variations can be achieved. Fig. 5.11(d) shows the resulting output
pulse. Power is restored to a single polarization state, and the pulse is
restored to its original 800 fs duration. In these experiments the pulse
shaper is controlled via an open-loop approach based on wavelength-
parallel polarimetry [118]. For details, see [52].
The use of pulse shaping for PMD compensation, described above,
is closely related to polarization pulse shaping, discussed briefly in
Section 4.1. The difference is that in polarization pulse shaping, a
bandwidth-limited input pulse in a single polarization state is con-
verted into a user-defined waveform with a time- and frequency-
dependent admixture of polarization states. In PMD compensation the
opposite is true: one seeks to restore a complicated waveform with
time- and frequency-dependent polarization into a bandwidth-
limited pulse in a single polarization state.

6. Pulse shaping at high spectral resolution

Unlike conventional modulator technologies, pulse shaping actually

gets easier as pulses get shorter — in the sense that with increased
optical bandwidth, it becomes easier to separate optical frequency
components. Conversely, pulse shaping manipulation of long pulses
leads to challenges in spectral resolution. For example, in order to
significantly affect a 10 GHz bandwidth lightwave communications
signal, a pulse shaper would need a spectral resolution of at most a few
GHz. This is near the limit of what is achievable with grating spectral
dispersers. In this section we first discuss experiments in which
conventional pulse shapers are pushed to very high spectral resolution
in order to achieve control of individual spectral lines of a high
repetition rate (of order 10 GHz) frequency comb. We then discuss the
use of virtually imaged phased array (VIPA) [33] dispersers for even
higher resolution shaping, which offers possibilities both for longer
time apertures and increased time–bandwidth products.
One motivation for the push toward high resolution pulse shaping
Fig. 5.11. (a) Random wave plate view of polarization mode dispersion (PMD). is the development of femtosecond frequency combs. Because the
(b) Poincare sphere plot of frequency-dependent polarization for 800 fs input pulse output of a mode-locked laser consists of a regular train of pulses, the
experiencing strong PMD. The polarization of the input pulse was frequency optical spectrum is actually a comb of sharp spectral lines beneath an
independent. (c) Intensity profiles of orthogonal polarizations after strong PMD.
(d) Restored pulse after pulse shaper based PMD compensator. The output pulse is
envelope that is the spectrum of a single pulse. The spacing between
restored to same duration as the input and has a single, frequency-independent state of comb lines is equal to the pulse repetition rate, which is easily mea-
polarization. surable. However, the absolute frequencies of the comb lines are more
3684 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

difficult to measure; in the past such absolute frequencies were much beyond 1 GHz, these early experiments were performed with a
unknown and left to vary in time. This corresponds to an unknown harmonically mode-locked fiber laser (not self-referenced) subject to
and varying rigid shift (known as the offset frequency) of the optical optical frequency fluctuations. Fig. 6.2 shows data in which the pulse
comb spectrum. Experimental demonstration of a self-referencing shaper selected a pair of adjacent spectral lines from the spectrum of
technique that allowed measurement and stabilization of the offset the laser, operating either at 8.5 GHz or 10.5 GHz. Empirically, the
frequency was first reported just over a decade ago [119]. Develop- optical frequencies were relatively stable for the lower repetition rate,
ment of such stabilized frequency combs has led to revolutionary but showed clear frequency fluctuations for the higher repetition rate.
advances in fields such as precision frequency metrology and optical The shaped output exhibits sinusoidal intensity variation in the time
frequency synthesis, e.g., [120–122], an accomplishment for which domain, with the peak intensity shifted in time according to the
the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded in 2005. Key concepts related relative optical phase shift (Φ = 0 or π) applied by the pulse shaper.
to the development of mode-locked frequency combs and their For 8.5 GHz operation, for which the optical frequencies are relatively
applications are discussed, e.g., in [123,124]. In addition, stabilization stable, overlaid sampling oscilloscope traces show comparable
of the offset frequency means that in the time domain, evolution of behavior for 0 and π optical phase shifts. In contrast, for 10.5 GHz
the optical phase from pulse to pulse is stable and well defined, operation subject to larger optical frequency fluctuations, the shaped
offering the new possibility of simultaneous short pulse duration and waveform is stable for Φ = 0 but becomes extremely noisy for Φ = π.
long term coherence. Bringing pulse shaping and comb technologies These effects are direct evidence of interference in the time regions
together offers prospects for long term coherence with simultaneous where waveform contributions overlap. For a π phase shift, the
control and manipulation of ultrafast time structure, a combination original laser pulses (corresponding to Φ = 0) are reshaped to form
not previously available. This combination, termed either line-by-line waveforms with intensities in the temporal region where contribu-
pulse shaping or optical arbitrary waveform generation, has potential tions from adjacent input pulses overlap, leading to time-varying
to enable new applications in areas such as coherent control over interference connected to pulse-to-pulse phase fluctuations. Much
quantum mechanical processes, manipulation of high-field laser– weaker fluctuations, if any, are observed at the time locations of the
matter interactions including attosecond pulse generation, ultra- original input pulses, as there is little temporal overlap at those times.
broadband radio-frequency photonics, telecommunications, and light Thus, the 100% duty factor property of line-by-line shaping funda-
detection and radar (LIDAR). Recent reviews of optical arbitrary mentally gives rise to a new time-dependent noise process that is
waveform generation may be found in [125,126]. directly linked to variations in the comb-offset frequency.
There is a fundamental difference between conventional pulse Another example of early line-by-line pulse shaping data is shown
shaping, in which spectral resolution does not permit addressing of in Fig. 6.3 [128]. Here pairs of spectral lines with different spacings
individual lines, and line-by-line shaping. The former case, group-of- were selected from the output of a harmonically mode-locked fiber
lines pulse shaping, is illustrated in Fig. 6.1(a), where frep is the laser spectrally broadened in a nonlinear fiber. With the spectral
spacing between comb lines. Assuming that the pulse shaping occurs resolution of the pulse shaper now optimized to ~ 2.5 GHz, clean
M lines at a time, the shaped pulses have maximum duration 1/(Mfrep) suppression of unwanted comb lines with ~30 dB contrast was
and repeat with period T = 1/frep. Accordingly, conventional pulse achieved. As a result waveforms with cosinusoidal intensity variation
shaping is constrained to produce isolated, low duty factor wave- could be generated in a single apparatus at rates from 10 GHz up to
forms. In contrast, for line-by-line pulse shaping (M = 1), as shown in 500 GHz.
Fig. 6.1(b), the shaped pulses can overlap, leading to 100% duty factor Subsequent development has led to demonstrations of complex
waveforms in which contributions from different input pulses OAWG with independent control of more than 100 spectral lines. In the
interfere in the overlapped region [127]. This results in interference experiments of [129], a 5 GHz repetition rate comb was generated by
effects that depend on the relative phase between pulses, which in strong electro-optic phase modulation of a continuous-wave laser,
turn depends on the comb offset frequency. The sensitivity of the which was compressed into a train of 2.4 ps pulses by a first line-by-line
generated waveforms to the offset frequency is fundamentally new in shaper, then further compressed and spectrally broadened in a
the line-by-line shaping regime and is not observed for group-of-line dispersion-decreasing nonlinear fiber. Such electro-optic approaches
shaping. for generation of high repetition rate combs have become popular for
Fig. 6.2 shows a simple demonstration [127]. Line-by-line shaping OAWG experiments by a number of groups, as well as for other
is achieved by optimizing a grating pulse shaper for a few GHz applications such as optical communications and optical signal
resolution, which requires beam expansion to several cm, large processing [30–32,130–138]. The result in [129] was a comb compris-
gratings, and long focal length lens, and by using a comb source with ing N1000 lines, corresponding in the time domain to a 5 GHz train
relatively high repetition rate (around 10 GHz). Because self- of pulses only 270 fs in duration, starting from continuous-wave
referenced mode-locked lasers do not easily scale to repetition rates input light! 108 of these lines were selected for subsequent OAWG

(a) (b)

Fig. 6.1. Illustrations of pulse shaping (a) in the group of lines regime, and (b) in the line-by-line regime.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3685

Fig. 6.2. (a) Two relatively stable spectral lines at 8.5 GHz. (b) Overlaid sampling scope traces with phase modulation (0 and π) on one spectral line. (c) Two relatively unstable
spectral lines at 10.5 GHz. (d) Overlaid sampling scope traces with phase modulation (0 and π) on one spectral line.

experiments. In an example of OAWG with highly structured temporal the time domain that spans the full waveform period with 100% duty
features, shown in Fig. 6.4, each pulse is split into two pulses per period, cycle, another hallmark of line-by-line pulse shaping. To confirm OAWG
one of which is delayed and the other of which has cubic spectral phase. fidelity, the calculated intensity cross-correlations are also shown for
Fig. 6.4(b,c) show the unwrapped and wrapped discrete spectral phases comparison. The agreement is excellent everywhere, even in the lowest
applied to the 108 comb lines. In this example we chose to program the intensity oscillations.
shaper such that the delayed pulse (linear spectral phase) and the cubic Recently a grism-based pulse shaper has been used to demonstrate
spectral phase pulse correspond to different halves of the spectrum. At line-by-line shaping of N600 comb lines spaced by 21 GHz over
some locations the phase change per pixel is π or more — one of the 13 THz of spectrum [139]. The comb source in this work was a mode-
hallmarks of operation in the line-by-line regime. In the time domain locked Ti:sapphire laser, running at a 1 GHz repetition rate compatible
trace shown in Fig. 6.4(a), the cubic spectral phase corresponding to with self-referenced operation, that is cavity filtered to increase the
quadratic frequency-dependent delay yields a strongly oscillatory tail in line spacing to 21 GHz [140], which is more convenient for line-by-

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig. 6.3. Selecting two spectral lines (separated by a: 10 GHz, b: 20 GHz, c: 400 GHz and d: 500 GHz) and corresponding cosine waveforms (with periods of 100 ps, 50 ps, 2.5 ps and
2 ps). Waveforms for (a,b) are measured using a sampling scope while (c,d) used cross-correlation.
3686 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

(a) (b)

(c)

Fig. 6.4. Line-by-line shaping of 108 lines: OAWG with high temporal complexity. (a) The intensity cross-correlation: each pulse is split into two pulses per period, one of which is
delayed and the other of which has cubic spectral phase. Each pulse corresponds to one half of the spectrum. Solid line: measured intensity cross-correlation. Dashed line: calculated
intensity cross-correlation. (b) The unwrapped spectral phases applied to shaper #2. (c) The wrapped spectral phases applied to shaper #2.

line shaping. A grism is a prism-grating combination that can be switching at rates of tens of MHz to ~1 GHz in group-of-lines pulse
optimized to provide near constant angular dispersion over a broad shaping experiments. One approach used in these experiments involves
bandwidth [141,142]. This avoids unwanted effects that may arise due pulse shaping masks implemented from arrays of semiconductor-based
to frequency-dependent spectral dispersion in large bandwidth modulator elements [18,154]. An alternative approach stretches input
operation [41] and enables precise centering of a large number of pulses in a dispersive fiber or chirped Bragg grating, which disperses
individual comb lines on individual pixels of a spatial light modulator. frequencies in time. Pulse shaping is then accomplished via serial
The high spectral resolution needed for line-by-line shaping has also (temporal) modulation of the resulting chirped pulses using a
been achieved using an arrayed waveguide router [30,31,143,144]. telecommunications modulator, followed by recompression [155].
Operation in the line-by-line regime is especially suitable for such As mentioned earlier, perhaps the highest spectral resolution in
devices, since the optical comb may be placed at the center of their pulse shaping so far has been achieved with a virtually imaged phased
discrete transmission channels. However, the minimum repetition rate array (VIPA) [33]. As shown in Fig. 6.5, the structure of the VIPA is
is limited, currently to 10 GHz [144], because increasing the resolution similar to the well known Fabry–Perot etalon, but with some impor-
requires increasing the area of the chip, which becomes incompatible tant differences. Instead of symmetric reflectivities, the VIPA typically
with the need for very low phase errors in the waveguide array. This has a high reflector on the input side (R ≈ 100%), with partial reflector
approach also offers potential for integration with other waveguide (e.g., r ≈ 96%) on the output side. Furthermore, light is coupled into
devices such as modulators. High speed modulation is easier to achieve the VIPA at a slight angle via cylindrical focusing through an uncoated
in a waveguide device than with bulk optical modulators — provided or anti-reflection coated window. This leads to multiple bounces
that the waveguides are formed from materials like compound within the etalon structure, which may be modeled as an array of
semiconductors, e.g., InP, that support high speed modulation. Recent laterally displaced virtual sources. As a result of the ensuing multiple
research includes implementation of an InP tunable integrated pulse beam interference, the VIPA acts as a spectral disperser, in the sense
shaper with coarse (200 GHz) channel spacing [145] and investigation that light emerging from the VIPA exhibits a frequency dependent
of fabrication methods suitable for realization of InP-based arrayed output angle. This may be understood based on the fundamental
waveguide routers with the closer (10–20 GHz) channel spacing
appropriate for OAWG [146]. However, to date high fidelity pulse
shaping results in the line-by-line regime are limited to silica-based (a)
devices that rely on slow thermo-optic modulation.
A continuing research challenge in OAWG is to modulate the
individual frequency components at speed sufficiently high that
waveforms may be updated on a pulse by pulse basis (otherwise the
waveform is limited to repeating every period of the input pulse
train). The possibility of operating at a modulation frequency equal
exceeding the spectral resolution raises interesting questions about
uncertainty in Fourier space, which are addressed theoretically in
[147]. An approach to address the competition between resolution
and switching speed, in which waveforms are predistorted to account
for spectral filtering effects, is suggested in Ref. [148]. To date,
however, experimental progress remains limited. A few papers have
employed external switching between pairs of shaped waveforms, at
speeds comparable to comb repetition rates (~10 GHz), in order to (b)
evaluate instrumentation that could be used for single-frame
characterization of OAWG waveforms updated on a pulse-by-pulse
basis [149–151]. A related switching scheme has been used in
conjunction with line-by-line pulse shaping to implement extremely
rapid reprogramming of photonically generated RF arbitrary wave-
forms [152,153].
In addition to the work mentioned above, which specifically in- Fig. 6.5. (a) Structure of a virtually imaged phased array (VIPA) device, (b) its use as a
volves line-by-line pulse shaping, there are a few reports of waveform spectral disperser.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3687

relationship in ultrafast optics between spectral dispersion and tilted

intensity fronts (delay variations across the transverse beam profile)
[1,156]. From Fig. 6.5 we immediately observe that the field within the
VIPA is delayed by an amount that increases across the transverse
beam profile; consequently, the VIPA must function as a spectral
disperser. A unique feature of the VIPA as a spectral disperser is its
high spectral resolution, similar to that of a Fabry–Perot transmission
filter. Detailed analysis of both the spectral dispersion law and
spectral resolution of the VIPA may be found in [157,158]. Experi-
mentally, our group has demonstrated 700 MHz spectral resolution
both in wavelength demultiplexing experiments and in pulse shaping,
using a VIPA with 50 GHz free spectral range [157,158].
Another interesting aspect of the VIPA is that its spectral disper-
sion function, i.e., the mapping between output angle and frequency,
is periodic. The periodicity is known as the free spectral range
(FSR) and is determined (as it is for a Fabry–Perot) by the optical
delay corresponding to one round trip transit within the device. In a
conventional pulse shaping geometry, as in Fig. 2.1, the periodic
spectral dispersion means that independent shaping is accomplished
only over one FSR of optical bandwidth. In order to retain the high
spectral resolution potential of the VIPA while enabling independent
shaping over larger bandwidth, it is necessary to separate the different
frequency bands corresponding to different FSRs. This has been
accomplished with a novel two dimensional (2D) spectral disperser
consisting of a diffraction grating and a VIPA arranged to disperse
frequencies along orthogonal spatial axes [159]. An attractive feature
of this arrangement is that dispersing frequencies into two di-
mensions allows exploitation of either 2D detector arrays (for Fig. 6.6. Images of the Fourier plane of a two dimensional VIPA-grating pulse shaper:
spectroscopy) or 2D spatial light modulators (for pulse shaping), (a) without a mask, and (b) with a mask.
such as the LCoS technology discussed in Section 4.1.1. In 2D formats
both detector arrays and SLMs offer millions of independent pixels, total time aperture of more than 200 ps. The inset in red shows the
orders of magnitude higher than in one dimensional formats. The simulated output which is in excellent agreement with the measure-
ability to disperse optical frequencies along a 2D grid [159] has ment. The second inset shows the fine temporal features near the
already proven useful for monitoring of frequency-dependent main pulse, which arise due to the coarse periodicity in the mask.
polarization effects for fiber communications [160], for massively Even greater pulse shaping complexity is possible using this
parallel comb spectroscopy [161], and even for high-speed imaging apparatus, limited in the experiments reported here by the input
[162]. A related 2D disperser arrangement consisting of a grating and optical bandwidth. Such 2D pulse shaping arrangements may offer a
an arrayed waveguide grating arranged in a cross-dispersion route toward line-by-line shaping of octave spanning combs,
geometry was introduced subsequently and used in research on large comprising for example 20,000 individual spectral lines for a 10 GHz
channel count optical demultiplexing and wavelength-controlled laser repetition rate comb centered at 1.5 μm wavelength.
scanning [163,164].
The use of 2D grating-VIPA spectral dispersers for pulse shaping is 7. Applications in ultrabroadband radio-frequency photonics
reported in [64,65]. Fig. 6.6 shows Fourier plane images taken in
experiments performed with a 50 MHz repetition rate mode-locked In the area of radio-frequency (RF) photonics, one seeks to use
fiber laser source (group-of-lines) pulse shaping, a VIPA with 200 GHz photonics technologies to augment the capabilities of RF electrical or
FSR, and a fixed spatial mask [64,65]. Prior to the application of a pulse wireless systems [165–167]. Popular applications that have been
shaping mask, Fig. 6.6(a), all the frequency components of the input explored include fiber transmission of high frequency RF signals over
source are present, and the image consists of continuous streaks distances that would be impossible over electrical cables, optical
corresponding to different FSRs of the VIPA spatially separated by the control of phased-array radars, and photonic implementation of RF
grating. Fig. 6.6(b) shows the Fourier plane image with an amplitude filters. In a relatively new subfield of RF photonics, which I refer to as
mask designed to introduce both coarse and fine features into the ultrabroadband RF photonics, one seeks to exploit the high speed
optical spectrum. Alternate 200 GHz FSRs are blocked by the mask and capabilities of photonic approaches to achieve new functionality for
are now missing from the image; within the remaining FSRs alternate generation and manipulation of ultrawideband (often pulsed)
5 GHz pieces of frequency are blocked, leading to the small spots electrical signals, with instantaneous bandwidths beyond those
visible within the remaining streaks in the image. Fig. 6.7 shows which can be handled by conventional electronic solutions. In this
measurements of the shaped spectrum and intensity profile. The section I describe examples of ultrabroadband RF arbitrary waveform
spectrum extends over ~8 THz, with coarse features that repeat every generation as well as ultrabroadband RF phase compensation and
400 GHz, visible in Fig. 6.7(a), and with fine features of order 5 GHz pulse compression. Manipulation of broadband RF phase was virtually
present within each coarse feature, visible in the expanded view of unexplored in RF photonics until relatively recently.
Fig. 6.7(b). With the 5 GHz minimum feature size, the spectrum Optical pulse shaping technology can be directly exploited to
contains more than 1600 features, corresponding to substantially realize arbitrary waveform generation capability for ultrawideband
higher complexity than previous pulse shaping demonstrations. The radio-frequency (RF) electrical signals. As depicted in Fig. 7.1(a), an
combination of broad bandwidth and high spectral resolution ultrashort optical input pulse is first shaped as desired, then directed
corresponds in the time domain to fine temporal features within a to a fast optical-to-electrical converter (O/E). By controlling the
broad time aperture. According to the intensity cross-correlation optical excitation waveform onto the O/E, programmable cycle-by-
traces, Fig. 6.7(c), the initial 150 fs pulse is now redistributed over a cycle synthesis of burst RF waveforms can be achieved. In some cases
3688 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

Fig. 6.7. Data obtained using a two dimensional VIPA-grating pulse shaper. (a) Full spectrum and (b) zoomed-in spectrum of a shaped pulse. (c) cross-correlation measurement of
shaped intensity profile. An initially bandwidth-limited pulse of 150 fs is shaped over a time aperture exceeding 200 ps.

an optical fiber acts as a dispersive stretcher, or a frequency-to-time Fig. 7.1(c,d) show the temporal and spectral profiles of a modulated
converter, in order to match the optical waveform duration to the impulsive signal designed to yield nearly flat RF power spectrum over
desired electrical waveform duration [168,169]. This results in a the full 3.1–10.6 GHz band [171]. The flat power spectrum allows
unique technology for generation of waveforms with instantaneous maximized transmitted pulse energy, hence increasing range and
bandwidths far beyond the reach of commercial electronic arbitrary signal-to-noise, in a radar or wireless communication system with
waveform generator solutions, whose bandwidths are limited pres- constrained peak power spectral density. Such waveforms, generated
ently to below 10 GHz. Different choices of pulse shaper configura- using photonics means over five years ago, substantially exceeded the
tions, coupled with different choices of O/E converter technologies, bandwidth of the electronic waveform generators then available and
has allowed demonstrations of waveform generation from the GHz could only be generated via photonics. Although electronic solutions
to the THz. Hence this approach is scalable over several orders of capable or nearly capable of generating such signals have now become
magnitude in RF frequency. An in-depth discussion of some of the available, photonics scales to much higher frequencies. Examples of
earlier work in ultrabroadband RF waveform generation is presented waveforms generated using a pulse shaper followed directly by an O/E
in [170]. (no frequency-to-time mapping) are shown in Fig. 7.2. Fig. 7.2(a)
Fig. 7.1(b–d) shows examples of subnanosecond RF waveform burst shows a burst millimeter-wave signal consisting of 3 cycles at 48 GHz
waveforms approximately within the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz band allocated by changing abruptly, on a cycle by cycle basis, to 2 cycles at 24 GHz [172].
the FCC for ultrawideband (UWB) wireless communications. These Also shown is the driving optical waveform; here the 60 GHz
waveforms were generated using the modified generator approach, in bandwidth photodiode acts as a low pass filter, smoothing the optical
which the optical power spectrum of a short optical pulse is tailored pulse train into the desired smooth RF electrical waveform. Fig. 7.2(b)
using a pulse shaper, followed by optical frequency-to-time conversion shows a periodic millimeter-wave signal with abrupt phase modula-
in a dispersive medium [168,169]. Fig. 7.1(b) shows a signal with tions at ~50 GHz [173]. Waveforms such as these are available only via
abrupt frequency hops inserted on a cycle-by cycle basis [169], while photonic solutions and open up new possibilities for impulsive radar,

Fig. 7.1. (a) Photonics-enabled RF arbitrary waveform generator, including optional dispersive fiber stretcher. (b) 1.2–2.4–4.9 GHz chirp waveform. (c) Impulsive waveform with
fine structure designed to achieve (d) flat RF power spectrum.
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3689

Fig. 7.2. Photonically generated RF waveforms at higher frequencies and bandwidths. (a) 48/24 GHz burst waveform. (b) Periodic and shaped waveforms at 50 GHz: (top)
unmodulated sinusoid; (bottom) with abrupt phase modulation. (c) THz waveforms with abrupt phase modulation. In (b) and (c), vertical lines are to visualize the phase
modulation.

electronic warfare, RF sensing, and secure wireless communications. be possible to extend this approach to achieve very fast waveform
Fig. 7.2(c) shows a final example in a still higher frequency (THz) agility, by incorporating electro-optic (as opposed to thermo-optic)
regime [174]. In this case the O/E is a photoconductive antenna. The modulators for programming the rings.
waveform pair demonstrates the ability to intentionally inject an RF arbitrary waveform generation enables a number of new
abrupt phase shift into a THz signal, again something not possible by experimental possibilities. As one example here we discuss the use of
any other current means. such electrical waveform shaping to allow compensation of dispersive
Although not necessarily clear from the figures, in all of these examples effects due to the antennas used in ultrawideband (UWB) wireless links.
(except for the THz case), the generated RF waveforms are positive This work is closely analogous to the optical dispersion compensation
definite, since photodetectors respond only to optical intensity. In the THz experiments described earlier and constitutes the first hardware
example, Fig. 7.2(c), the signal is bipolar; the DC component is removed implementation of dispersion compensation in the UWB electrical
upon radiation by the photoconductive antenna. Radiation and wireless domain. Antenna dispersion, associated with a frequency dependent
transmission will also remove the DC components in lower frequency phase response and hence frequency dependent delay, is an important
bands, since zero frequency signals do not propagate. Alternatively, the DC issue in UWB, as many common antennas that have been optimized for
component may be suppressed by using a setup modified for differential broadband amplitude response do not exhibit linear spectral phase. A
detection, as demonstrated recently in the UWB band [175]. related point is that although RF components, including antennas, may be
In addition to the use of pulse shapers implemented in bulk optics, designed for systems that are tunable over a broad frequency range (e.g.,
as in the work shown above, more compact device alternatives have 2–18 GHz), they are often not designed for impulsive signals with broad
also been investigated, especially in the RF waveform generation instantaneous bandwidth. The concept of optimizing the antenna feed
schemes involving shaping in conjunction with frequency-to-time voltage to obtain desirable temporal properties in the received wave-
conversion. Fiber Bragg grating technology has been investigated forms, such as peak amplitude or minimal duration, has been explored
extensively for RF waveform generation [176]. With chirped fiber theoretically [178], but could not previously be tested experimentally due
gratings, the spectral shaping function and the frequency-to-time to lack of waveform generation capability. Photonic waveform generator
mapping function are achieved in the same device. Advantages technology has enabled our group to publish the first such experiments
include small form factor and small propagation delay; a limitation is [179,180].
that the pulse shape is determined by the fabricated grating pattern, An example is shown in Fig. 7.3. First an ~200 ps RF impulse
so programmability is difficult. Recently a programmable spectral excites a commercial log-periodic antenna for transmission over a
shaper chip implemented in silicon photonics has been reported short line-of-sight wireless link. The log-periodic antenna, an example
[177]. This device consists of a series of ring resonators independently of a so-called frequency-independent antenna, exhibits strong
coupled to through and drop waveguide busses. The resonance dispersion, leading to a ten-fold broadening in the received signal
frequencies, and the on-resonance transmission amplitudes, may be and an obvious frequency sweep. We then generate an intentionally
controlled independently via the thermo-optic effect. This allows for predistorted electrical drive waveform, with frequency dependent
full programmability of the optical spectrum, and hence the generated delay opposite to that of the dispersive antenna link. The output signal
RF waveform after frequency-to-time mapping and O/E, subject to the is now recompressed to nearly the original 200 ps duration.
number of independent rings (eight in ref. [177]). In the future it may Furthermore, the received peak power, normalized to the peak drive

Fig. 7.3. Precompensation of broadband dispersive antenna link. (a) Impulse drive waveform and (b) resulting received signal showing strong pulse distortion. (c) Predistorted drive
waveform, resulting in (d) compressed output.
3690 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692

Fig. 7.4. Concept for ultrabroadband RF waveform compression via matched filtering. Here the elements within the box, implemented photonically, together act as a matched filter
for an RF electrical signal of interest.

power, is increased nearly 20× (13 dB). Such pulse compression passed into a hyperfine-resolution optical pulse shaper for processing.
experiments, though common-place in optical systems, are unprec- As discussed in a previous section, the pulse shaper employs a VIPA
edented in RF systems with the ~ 10 GHz instantaneous bandwidths spectral disperser that can separate optical frequencies at much finer
considered here. The ability to precompensate antenna distortions resolution (down to ~700 MHz) than conventional pulse shapers
should significantly extend the choices of antenna structures that can (tens of GHz). For the first time this provides sufficient spectral
be applied to UWB wireless. resolution in pulse shaping to address RF filtering applications. The
Ultrabroadband radio-frequency systems will benefit not only hyperfine pulse shaper is programmed for phase of equal magnitude
from waveform generation technologies but also from new receiver but opposite sign compared to that of the RF electrical signal of
approaches. In particular, analog matched filter receivers capable of interest. This results in compression of the modulated signal in the
compressing frequency swept or other ultrabroadband RF signals to optical domain; the overall result after optical-to-electrical conver-
the bandwidth limit are of interest. Compression concentrates energy sion is electrical pulse compression. Fig. 7.5 shows an example of
into a short duration pulse, resulting in an increase in peak power that photonically implemented, electrical matched filtering data. The
can aid in signal detection and identification and in interference uncompressed waveform (Fig. 7.5a) is a 15-bit pseudorandom
rejection. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have been used sequence with 18.7 Gb/s peak modulation rate filling an 800 ps time
extensively for RF pulse compression. However, such SAW devices are aperture. The output signal after the photodetector (Fig. 7.5b) is
generally not programmable and have been demonstrated only up to obviously compressed, with duration of only 50 ps (16-fold compres-
3.63 GHz with 1.1 GHz bandwidth (30% fractional bandwidth), with sion) and 5 times increase in peak voltage (14 dB in power).
insertion loss of 23 dB even after accounting for the pulse compres- Exploiting the full programmability of the spectral phase applied by
sion gain [181]. Further progress is difficult due to shrinking dimen- the hyperfine pulse shaper, we have obtained comparable pulse
sions and increased loss associated with higher center frequencies. In compression results with a range of other waveforms. Experiments in
modern radar practice, compression is often practiced in the digital which waveform compression and dispersion compensation are
domain; however, bandwidth is limited by the ADC technology. In the performed simultaneously after transmission over a dispersive
traditional RF area, the design of arbitrary phase filters remained antenna link have also been reported [186]. This optical pulse shaping
untouched for many years, especially for ultrabroad bandwidth. approach constitutes the first technology of any kind capable of
Recently microwave chirped delay lines based on chirped Bragg generally reconfigurable RF phase filtering over such bandwidths.
grating structures fabricated onto microwave transmission lines have
been reported with bandwidths of several GHz and center frequencies 8. Conclusion and acknowledgements
beyond 30 GHz [182–184]. However, the response of such devices is
fixed. In summary, this paper provides a tutorial on the field of
A photonics approach based on pulse shaping allows programma- femtosecond pulse shaping, with an emphasis on Fourier transform
ble phase filtering of RF signals up to ~ 20 GHz in bandwidth [185]. pulse shaping, the most widely applied technique. Pulse shaping
Fig. 7.4 shows the basic setup for pulse compression operation. A permits generation of user defined ultrafast optical waveforms, with
continuous-wave laser is modulated by an arbitrary input RF electrical control of phase, amplitude, and polarization. This technology has
waveform. This upconverts the RF signal into the optical domain, broad applications, with impact both to ultrafast optical science and
where in frequency space it represents a broadband sideband adja- high-speed photonics. Several examples of applications, selected
cent to the original optical carrier. The modulated signal is then from the areas of coherent control and lightwave communications, are

Fig. 7.5. Data demonstrating RF electrical waveform compression. (a) Burst pseudorandom electrical waveform, generated photonically. (b) Output compressed electrical waveform
after the matched filter is applied. For display purposes the waveform in (a) is expanded ~ 1.9× compared to that in (b).
 A.M. Weiner / Optics Communications 284 (2011) 3669–3692 3691

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