Continuous Tunable Delays at 10-Gb/s Data Rates Using Self-Phase Modulation and Dispersion

We demonstrate all-optical tunable delays in optical fiber at communication data rates via dispersion and wavelength conversion using nonlinear spectral broadening and filtering. A second wavelength-conversion stage is implemented such that the output wavelength of the delay generator is the same as the input wavelength. With this scheme, we achieve continuously tunable delays over a range of 250 ps for 5.4-ps-long pulses at a data rate of 10 Gb/s. The delay generator does not exhibit any measurable pulse distortion and offers potential scalability to data rates as high as 60 Gb/s. The reconfiguration rate of the delay generator is limited by the tuning speed of the bandpass filter used in the wavelength-conversion stage.