Patent ID: 7403714

Claim:
An all-optical system for correcting optical dispersions, the system comprising: a dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) device having an input, to receive at least one optical information channel carrying a first signal that is broadened by optical dispersions corresponding to said at least one optical information channel, and at least one output, to redirect said broadened first signal; and at least one optical self-chopping device having an input, a transmitting output, a reflecting output, and an optical loop including a non-linear element (NLE), to receive at said input the broadened first signal from the at least one output of the DWDM device, and to perform a chopping operation to produce a second signal at said transmitting output and a third signal at said reflecting output, said second and third signals each having a width that is narrower than the width of said broadened first signal, wherein said second signal at the transmitting output has a constant width that is independent of the width of said broadened first signal, wherein said third signal at the reflecting output has a width that is narrower than the width of said broadened first signal by a controllable amount that is independent of the width of said broadened first signal, and wherein the widths of said second and third signals are controllable by an adjustment of said NLE, said adjustment selected from the group consisting of adjusting the position of said NLE and adjusting the gain of said NLE, wherein said broadened first signal and said reflected third signal propagate in opposite directions in said input of the DWDM device, and wherein said system is able to correct multiple types of optical dispersions selected from the group consisting of chromatic dispersions, polarization-mode-dispersions, first order polarization-mode-dispersions, and second order polarization-mode-dispersions.