We demonstrate wideband all-order polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensation by applying high-speed spectral polarization sensing and ultrafast pulse shaping techniques to characterize and correct the frequency-dependent Jones matrix associated with PMD of optical fibers on a wavelength-by-wavelength basis. We report full compensation of approximately 800 fs pulses distorted to more than 1...

We report the first use of a double-layer liquid crystal modulator array for spectral phase pulse shaping that operates independent of polarization. Such insensitivity to polarization is crucial for fiber applications, e.g., dispersion compensation.

With the aim of pushing limiting magnitude interferometric instruments, need for wide-band detection channels and a coordinated operation different instruments has considerably grown in field long-baseline interferometry. For this reason, Center High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA), an array six telescopes, requires new configuration longitudinal dispersion compensators to keep fringe cont...

We report linear dispersion compensation, soliton pulse formation, soliton compression, and ultra-broad supercontinuum generation in a holey fiber with anomalous dispersion at wavelengths above 800nm. The holey fiber was seeded with ultrashort pulses from a diode pumped, Ytterbium (Yb)-doped fiber source operating at 1.06 microm. The results highlight the compatibility of the rapidly developing...

Numerical analysis of the dispersion-compensating properties of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG’s) in both reflective and transmissive modes is presented. First, the sensitivity of chirped, reflective gratings to the grating chirp parameter, index modulation, and grating length is examined, showing that apodization provides lower sensitivity to variations in these parameters. Second, we introduce a n...

We demonstrate the use of photonic-crystal fiber for dispersion compensation in a soliton fiber laser. The anomalous dispersion provided by the photonic-crystal fiber enables us to construct a femtosecond .ber laser at 1 microm wavelength without prisms or diffraction gratings. The laser produces ~100-fs pulses with 1 nJ energy, and is a major step toward environmentally-stable all-fiber device...