Picosecond pulse generation using nonlinear time-lens compression

In this paper, we demonstrate simultaneous time-lens and soliton compression effects in standard single mode fiber by a simple amplification stage of the signal prior to the injection in the compression fiber. Our technique allows the generation of 3.2 ps pulses at a 10 GHz repetition rate without using special components or additional phase aberration correction, at a low driving voltage. The output pulses are characterized by a sensitive implementation of frequency-resolved optical gating, which allows the retrieval of both the intensity and phase profiles of the pulses.