Abstract

The generation of short optical pulses at 1.55 μm is a key issue in future communications sytems, which will require high speed sources for soliton transmission and optical time division multiplexing (OTDM). It has recently been shown that a sinusoidally driven electroabsorption modulator can be used to convert the output of a cw laser to nearly transform-limited pulses.^1–2 This simple technique is readily integrated and, unlike mode-locked sources, provides substantial flexibility in operating frequency. However, the output pulse width is, to first order, inversely proportional to the operating frequency, resulting in a limited duty cycle which could be detrimental in soliton or high speed OTDM systems.

© 1994 Optical Society of America