Technical progress in both industry and science has enabled the preparation, manipulation, probing of quantum systems with an unprecedented level control. This provides basis for a multitude so-called technologies like cryptography, sensors computers, which are currently developing from laboratory experiments into commercial applications.

The Fourier transform of a coherent optical image can be evaluated physically by use of a single lens plus free-space propagation, thereby providing the basis for the field of Fourier optics. I point out that one can similarly evaluate the discrete Fourier transform of a sampled or pixelated optical array physically by passing the discrete array amplitudes through a network of single-mode fiber...

Infrared (IR) optical fibers may be defined as fiber optics transmitting radiation with wavelengths greater than approximately 2 μm. The first IR fibers were fabricated in the mid-1960’s from chalcogenide glasses such as arsenic trisulfide with losses in excess of 10 dB/m. During the mid-1970’s, the interest in developing an efficient and reliable IR fiber for short-haul applications increased ...

All-optical signal processing is the focus of much research aiming to obtain effective alternatives to existing data transmission platforms. Amplification of light in fiber optics, such as in Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, is especially important for efficient signal transmission. However, the complex fabrication methods involving high-temperature processes performed in a highly pure environmen...

High bandwidth requirements make the use of fiber optics very attractive for Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) implementations. Several fiber optics MAN architectures have been proposed. A common drawback of such architectures is the presence of active processing components (e.g. ring interfaces, switches, gateways) at intermediate points along the path. Such elements tend to reduce reliability a...

Biophotonics and nonlinear fiber optics have traditionally been two independent fields. Since the discovery of fiber-based supercontinuum generation in 1999, biophotonics applications employing incoherent light have experienced a large impact from nonlinear fiber optics, primarily because of the access to a wide range of wavelengths and a uniform spatial profile afforded by fiber supercontinuum...

We have developed a fiber-optics surface-light-scattering spectrometer completely designed with optical fiber components. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a noninvasive measurement of the surface tension and the viscosity of simple liquid-vapor interfaces with a fiber-optics-based sensor system. With this approach we obtain a compact size, a significant increase ...

A short recirculating fiber loop (-100 km) that can emulate PMD with Maxwellianstatistics is realized by loop-synchronous polarization scrambling inside the loop. Theperformance of our distribution-correct PMD loop is compared both experimentally andnumerically to that of a distribution-incorrect PMD loop.©2000 Optical Society of AmericaOCIS codes: (060.2330) Fiber optics co...