Photonic Generation of UWB Pulses Using a Nonlinear Optical Loop Mirror and Its Distribution Over a Fiber Link

A novel approach is proposed for generating ultra-wideband (UWB) doublet pulses using a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). In this scheme, a polarization controller is used to shift the NOLM transfer function so that for a fixed operating condition (pump power), we can access the nonlinear portion of the transfer function. The UWB doublet pulses are then modulated using on-off keying and transmitted over a 10-km span of standard single-mode fiber to assess system performance. Error-free transmission is achieved with a power penalty of 1.5 dB compared with the back-to-back measurement.