Optical sampling using an all-fiber optical Kerr shutter

An all-fiber optical Kerr shutter consisting of a short single-mode fiber and a highly birefringent fiber which serves not only as a polarizer but also as a wavelength filter to reject pump light is successfully realized. By utilizing the Kerr shutter, optical sampling is demonstrated. Time-varying signal light from a laser diode at λ=0.84 μm is sampled into a train of pulses through the Kerr shutter which is driven by an intense light pulse at λ=1.064 μm. The applications to high-speed signal processing and the generation of picosecond optical pulse are promising because of the fiber’s fast response of optical Kerr effect.