Potentialities of slow and fast light in optical fibers

The ubiquitous role of optical fibers in modern photonic systems has stimulated research to realize slow and fast light devices directly in this close-to-perfect transmission line. Recent progress in developing optically-controlled delays in optical fibers, operating under normal environmental conditions and at telecommunications wavelengths, has paved the way towards real applications for slow and fast light. Advanced schemes can be realized thanks to the extremely flexible possibility to shape the gain spectrum to make it optimized for applications. Ultra wide bandwidth, delaying with flat amplitude response and lower distortion were successfully demonstrated this way.