Experimental and theoretical demonstration of amplifying pulse compression using an SOA-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A pulse compression scheme based on a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed. It is independent of the initial chirp of the pulses, provides amplification, and can potentially be integrated with a simple pulse source. Experimental demonstration of the scheme is presented. The principle of pulse compression in a MZI was described through simulations, which showed good agreement with experimental results.