Efficient picosecond pulse shaping by programmable Bragg gratings

We propose an efficient approach for arbitrary optical pulse shaping in the subhundred to a few hundreds picosecond regime. The designed device uses one-dimensional wave-guided Bragg gratings filled with an electrically controlled dielectric. One hundred electrodes are attached along the waveguide so that the refractive index pattern is programmable by applying voltages. The frequency response of this device with certain refractive index patterns is analyzed. Numerical simulations show that output pulses with desired shapes and high efficiency (>40% of theoretical maximum) can be obtained by using a genetic algorithm searching method augmented by an adiabatic following optimization scheme