40-GHz photonic waveform generator by linear shaping of four spectral sidebands

We show that the amplitude and phase shaping of only four sidebands of the optical spectrum is sufficient to synthesize parabolic, triangular, or flat-top pulse trains at high repetition rates. Selection of the symmetric carrier-suppressed waveform is easily achieved by changing the phase difference between the inner and outer spectral lines. Experiments carried out at a repetition rate of 40 GHz confirm the high quality of the intensity profiles that are obtained.