Picosecond pulse source

DIRAC is our chip-based picosecond pulse source. Quantum optics, quantum key distribution and time-resolved spectroscopy all require short optical pulses at a precisely known rate. The mode-locked lasers that conventionally provide them are bulky, expensive with a repetition rate is set by the cavity length, so the system is built around the laser rather than the other way round.
DIRAC inverts that dependency. Taking a CW laser signal and an RF control signal as inputs, it emits pulses on demand. Because the pulse train is controlled electrically rather than by a laser cavity, the pulse train's repetition rate and pattern can be chosen to suit the specific quantum experiment or device. The pulses are short in both domains simultaneously,10 ps with sub-0.1 nm linewidth, at a time–bandwidth product of 0.104 and low timing jitter. Being chip-based, DIRAC is compact and has flexible wavelength coverage. It comes in versions centred at 1550 nm and 1310 nm, and other bands can be designed on request.