Multi-dimensional Photonic Processing, A Discrete-Domain Approach: Part II – Decomposition Techniques and Implementation Using Fiber Optic Delay Lines

Ultra high bandwidth properties of fiber-optic signal processing systems could provide the necessary processing power for computationally demanding two-dimensional signal processing applications. The techniques of fiber-optic signal processing so far have not been applied to the area of two-dimensional signal processing. Further the matured fields of integrated optics and integrated photonics as well as recent developments of nanophotonics allow innovative structures for processing of lightwaves in photonic domain. This paper as Part II of three part series on multi-dimension photonic signal processing, has sought to integrate the fields of discrete signal processing and fiber-optic signal processing, integrated photonics and/or possibly nanophotonics to establish a methodology based on which physical systems can be implemented. Several photonic signal processing (PSP) architectures are proposed to enable efficient coherent lightwave signal processing. Although the structures are originally developed for 2-D processing, they are also applicable for 1-D structures. Using a combination of one-dimensional filter structures, 2-D fiber-optic filters can be constructed. The relationship between the fiber-optic model and the mathematical model has been linked to allow quick implementation. Using the developed methodologies, multi-dimensional coherent photonic signal processors can be designed.