High-rate pulse-train generation by phase-only filtering of an electrooptic frequency comb: Analysis and optimization

We investigate the generation of high-rate optical pulse trains by spectral phase-only filtering of a frequency comb derived from an electrooptically phase-modulated continuous-wave laser. The technique is initially analyzed as a two-step filtering process. First, a fundamental pulse-train with repetition-rate equal to the modulation frequency is obtained by line-by-line phase-cancellation of the electrooptic frequency comb. Second, the temporal Talbot-effect is considered so that the output pulse repetition-rate is an integer multiple of the electrooptic modulation frequency. Nonidealities found in the fundamental train lead, in general, to multiplied trains with important degradations. We numerically analyze optimum modulation conditions for generation of output pulse trains with minimum peak-to-peak variations and/or maximum extinction level. On the other hand, a genetic algorithm is considered to numerically find optimum line-by-line phase-only filters that generate output multiplied trains with minimized degradations. Numerical simulations show that, in general, this second approach allows for improvement in the quality of the resultant multiplied trains, in terms of the uniformity degree and/or noise-level, compared with the pulse trains resulting from the Talbot-effect-based approach. (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.