Ultrafast all-optical temporal differentiators based on CMOS-compatible integrated-waveguide Bragg gratings

We report the first realization of integrated, all-optical first- and higher-order photonic differentiators operating at terahertz (THz) processing speeds. This is accomplished in a Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) CMOS-compatible platform using a simple integrated geometry based on (pi-) phase-shifted Bragg gratings. Moreover, we achieve on-chip generation of sub-picosecond Hermite-Gaussian pulse waveforms, which are noteworthy for applications in next-generation optical telecommunications. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America