All-optical wavelength conversion of 500-fs pulse trains by using a nonlinear-optical loop mirror composed of a highly nonlinear DSF

We present a design guideline for ultrafast wavelength conversion using a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) composed of a dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF). By using the guideline, the wavelength allocation, the loop length, and the signal peak pourer are optimized for given values of the nonlinear coefficient and dispersion slope of the DSF. We actually construct a NOLM wavelength converter composed of a 50-m-long highly nonlinear DSF, and demonstrate 26-nm wavelength conversion of 500-fs pulse trains with a relatively low peak power of 4 W.