All-optical timing restoration using a hybrid time-domain chirp switch

We demonstrate a hybrid time-domain chirp switch (TDCS) in which the nonlinear chirper is an AlGaAs waveguide and the soliton dispersive delay line is a polarization-maintaining fiber. The hybrid TDCS can restore timing in a switching or transmission system, and when combined with an optical amplifier, it can act as an ultrafast, all-optical regenerator for soliton pulses. The timing restoration concept is applicable to other nonlinear materials with negligible walk-off, and the acceptable time window can be tailored by adjusting the width and intensity of a reference pulse.