Ultrafast all-optical signal processing for networking, computing and metrology

在全光领域处理信息的优势包括巨大的可用带宽和光学方法固有的并行性，这转化为超高的处理速度，远远超过目前更传统的基于电子的解决方案。本文所述的研究计划将侧重于开发一套全光时域信号处理设备，无论是目前没有或目前基于不切实际的解决方案，这在各种应用领域至关重要，包括超高比特率光通信，超快脉冲整形和计量，以及全光信息处理。目标器件将使用全光纤技术实现，特别是“光纤光栅”，由于其简单紧凑，插入损耗低，潜在的低成本以及与光纤系统的兼容性而具有吸引力。我的研究将指向两个基本的发展：(a)全光纤亚皮秒光脉冲整形设备，我们的主要目标是实现能够合成任意脉冲形状的设备，其时间分辨率低至亚皮秒范围，这是目前光纤技术通常无法达到的；(b)基本超快全光纤信号处理器，针对未来全光处理电路的各种基本构建模块的设计，实验实现和应用，包括光子时间微分器和积分器。所研究的光纤概念可以很容易地迁移到集成波导实现中，这将为目标技术开辟一系列新的、令人兴奋的应用前景。除了提到的短期应用之外，拟议的研究将允许获得大量其他技术和科学应用的基本知识，如超快全光计算，生物医学成像和量子光学等不同领域。从该计划中产生的新知识和在目标战略领域培养的高素质人才将有助于提高加拿大在高科技领域的全球竞争力。

Advantages of processing the information in the all-optical domain include the tremendous available bandwidth and the parallelism intrinsic to the optical approach, which translate into ultrahigh processing speeds well above the reach of present, more conventional electronic-based solutions. The research program described here will focus on the development of a set of all-optical time-domain signal processing devices, either currently unavailable or presently based on impractical solutions, which are of critical importance in various applied fields, including ultrahigh-bit-rate optical telecommunications, ultrafast pulse shaping and metrology, and all-optical information processing. The targeted devices will be implemented using all-fiber technologies, particularly "fiber gratings", which are attractive due to their simplicity and compactness, low insertion losses, potential for low cost, and compatibility with fiber-optics systems. My research will be directed towards two fundamental developments: (a) All-fiber sub-picosecond optical pulse shaping devices, our main target being the realization of devices enabling the synthesis of arbitrary pulse shapes with temporal resolutions down to the sub-picosecond range, a regime that cannot be generally reached with present fiber technologies; and (b) Basic ultrafast all-fiber signal processors, targeting the design, experimental realization and application of various fundamental building blocks for future all-optical processing circuits, including photonic temporal differentiators and integrators. The fiber-optics concepts to be investigated could be easily migrated into integrated waveguide implementations, which would open a range of new, exciting application perspectives for the targeted technologies. Besides the mentioned short-term applications, the proposed research will allow the acquisition of a fundamental know-how for a multitude of other technological and scientific applications in such diverse fields as ultrafast all-optical computing, biomedical imaging and quantum optics. The new knowledge generated from this program and the training of highly qualified personnel in the targeted strategic areas will contribute to enhance Canada's global competitiveness in high-technology sectors.