We experimentally demonstrate pulse-shaping experiments in which the individual spectral lines that are present in the output of a mode-locked laser (8.5 GHz mode spacing, centered at 1542 nm) are resolved. The shaped pulses overlap in time, and this leads to a new way to observe fluctuations of the comb-offset frequency in the time domain.

We demonstrate a method for all-optical, tunable pulse repetition-rate multiplication of a mode-locked laser based on spectral line-by-line control. In particular, two-to-five-times repetition-rate multiplication of a 9 GHz source is achieved with very high fidelity.

Spectral line-by-line shaping is a key enabler towards optical arbitrary waveform generation, which promises broad impact both in optical science and technology. In this paper, generation of optical and microwave arbitrary waveforms using the spectral line-by-line shaping technique is reviewed. Compared to conventional pulse shaping, significant new physics arises in the line-by-line regime, where the shaped pulse fields generated from one laser pulse now overlap with those generated from adjacent pulses. This leads to coherent interference effects related to the properties of optical frequency combs which serve as the source in these experiments. We explore such effects in a series of experiments using several different high-repetitionrate optical combs, including harmonically mode-locked lasers and continuous-wave lasers that are externally phase modulated either with or without the help of an optical cavity. As an application of line-by-line pulse shaping, we describe generation of microwave electrical arbitrary waveforms that can be reprogrammed at rates approaching 10 GHz.Significance of line-by-line shaping: combining optical frequency combs with spectral pulse shaping

We investigate the chromatic dispersion properties of silicon channel slot waveguides in a broad spectral region centered at ~1.5 μm. The variation of the dispersion profile as a function of the slot fill factor, i.e., the ratio between the slot and waveguide widths, is analyzed. Symmetric as well as asymmetric geometries are considered. In general, two different dispersion regimes are identified. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the zero and/or the peak dispersion wavelengths can be tailored by a careful control of the geometrical waveguide parameters including the cross-sectional area, the slot fill factor, and the slot asymmetry degree.