Chaotic time-delay signature suppression with bandwidth broadening by fiber propagation

Chaotic emission of a semiconductor laser is investigated through propagation over a fiber for achieving broadening of the bandwidth and suppression of the time-delay signature (TDS). Subject to delayed optical feedback, the laser first generates chaos with a limited bandwidth and an undesirable TDS. The laser emission is then delivered over a standard single-mode fiber for experiencing self-phase modulation, together with anomalous group-velocity dispersion, which leads to the broadening of the optical bandwidth and suppression of the TDS in the intensity signal. The effects are enhanced as the input power launched to the fiber increases. By experimentally launching up to 340 mW into a 20 km fiber, the TDS is suppressed by 10 times to below 0.04, while the bandwidth is broadened by six times to above 100 GHz. The improvement of the chaotic signal is potentially useful in random bit generation and range detection applications.