Experimental observation of all-optical non-return-to-zero-to-return-to-zero format conversion based on cascaded second-order nonlinearity assisted by active mode-locking

We report the experimental demonstration of all-optical format conversion by exploiting the cascaded second-harmonic generation and difference-frequency generation (cSHG/DFG) in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide assisted by the reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA)-based active mode-locking. 10 and 20 Gbit/s format conversions from non-return-to-zero (NRZ) to return-to-zero (RZ) are successfully observed. Two schemes with either the NRZ signal or the pump optical clock set at the quasi-phase matching (QPM) wavelength are both verified in the experiment.