Performance optimization of ultra-short optical pulse generation based on Mamyshev reshaping and its application in 100-Gb/s and 200-Gb/s optical time-division multiplexing

A robust, cost-effective external-modulated ultra-short pulse generator based on chirp compression and Mamyshev reshaper is simulated numerically and demonstrated experimentally. We investigated the quality of the pulse with numerical calculation, demonstrating that the pulsewidth and pulse pedestal can be significantly improved after optimization. The role of out-of-band suppression ratio of the optical filter in reducing the pulse pedestal is explained. Using the numerical analysis as a guideline, 25-GHz 1.9-ps pedestal-free nearly transform-limited optical pulse with an extinction ratio of 29 dB and a root-mean square timing jitter of 120 fs (100 Hz to 10 MHz) is experimentally generated. The pulse source is then successfully applied in 100-Gb/s and 200-Gb/s optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM) system with 100-km transmission, which is a strong proof that such pulse generator is a simple, practical, low-cost, power efficient solution for OTDM applications.