High-speed wavelength tunable DPSK demodulation using a phase modulator based loop mirror filter.

A high-speed wavelength tunable differential phase-shift-keying (DPSK) signal demodulator is presented using a phase modulator (PM) based fiber loop mirror filter. By controlling the birefringence of the PM inside the loop through electro-optic effect, wavelength tuning speed of tens of GHz and tuning range of over two free spectral ranges are achieved. Stable filter spectra with extinction ratio over 30 dB are obtained through the tuning process. By combining the birefringence of polarization maintaining fiber and PM, error-free demodulation performance is experimentally achieved throughout the wavelength tuning range for DPSK signals with flexible bit-rate range from 2.5 to 10  Gb/s. This design significantly improves the wavelength tuning speed and is potentially valuable for high-speed switching and tuning applications.