Photonic fractional Fourier transformer with a single dispersive device

In this work we used the temporal analog of spatial Fresnel diffraction to design a temporal fractional Fourier transformer with a single dispersive device, in this way avoiding the use of quadratic phase modulators. We demonstrate that a single dispersive passive device inherently provides the fractional Fourier transform of an incident optical pulse. The relationships linking the fractional Fourier transform order and scaling factor with the dispersion parameters are derived. We first provide some numerical results in order to prove the validity of our proposal, using a fiber Bragg grating as the dispersive device. Next, we experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of this proposal by using a spool of a standard optical fiber as the dispersive device. Fil: Cuadrado Laborde, Christian Ariel. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Ciencia de Los Materiales de Barcelona; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Opticas (i); Argentina. Universidad Catolica de La Plata; Argentina Fil: Carrascosa, A.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Ciencia de Los Materiales de Barcelona; España