Patent ID: 6625338
Filing Date: 2003-09-23
Classification: G02F

Abstract:
A converter for the conversion of a signal in an NRZ format with a bit duration of T, into a signal in an RZ format, the converter comprising:an interferometric structure with a first arm and a second arm, each of the arms having a first end and a second end and at least one of the first or the second arms containing a medium for which a value of an optical index is variable as a function of an optical power passing through said medium, the interferometric structure having at least one input and at least one output, one of the said at least one inputs of the structure being configured to receive the NRZ signal to be converted, one of the said at least one outputs carrying a signal resulting from interference between a signal present in the first arm and a signal present in the second arm; the converter further comprising: a coupling means for coupling said signal carried by the output of the interferometric structure to an arm of the interferometric structure containing the medium for which the value of the optical index varies as a function of the optical power; and a delay means placed between the output from the interferometric structure and the coupling means, the delay means causing a delay equal to approximately T/2.