Complete compensation of pulse broadening in an amplifier-based slow light system using a nonlinear regeneration element

We experimentally demonstrate complete compensation of pulse broadening in an amplifier-based slow light system. The configuration of the delay line basically consists of two stages: a conventional Brillouin slow light system and a nonlinear regeneration element. Signal pulses experienced both time delay and temporal broadening through the Brillouin delay line and then the delayed pulses were delivered into a nonlinear optical loop mirror. Due to the nonlinear response of the transmission of the fiber loop, the inevitably broadened pulses were moderately compressed in the output of the loop, without loss in the capacity to delay the pulses. The overall result is that, for the maximum delay, the width of the pulse could be kept below the input width while the time delays introduced by the slow light element were preserved. Using this delay line, a signal pulse with duration of 27 ns at full width at half maximum was delayed up to 1.3-bits without suffering from signal distortion.