Tunable dispersion compensation

1. A method of compensating for dispersion in an optical signal having a first frequency range, comprising:

applying the optical signal to a dispersion compensating material having a negatively refracting behavior within said first frequency range; and

tuning the dispersion compensating material by applying a control signal thereto that varies at least one characteristic thereof associated with said negatively refracting behavior.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said dispersion compensating material is configured such that said first wavelength range is near a resonant frequency of the dispersion compensating material but does not include said resonant frequency.

3. The method of claim 1 , propagation of the optical signal through a dispersive medium and application of the optical signal to the dispersion compensating material and resulting in a compensated signal, the method further comprising:

applying a portion of the compensated signal to a dispersion analyzer that generates a first signal at least partially representative of an amount of residual dispersion in the compensated signal; and

varying said control signal according to said first signal in a manner that reduces the amount of residual dispersion in the compensated signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said dispersion compensating material comprises an externally powered gain material, the method further comprising applying external power to said externally powered gain material for providing one of net gain and reduced loss for the optical signal upon propagation through said dispersion compensating material.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said dispersion compensating material comprises a photonic crystal medium formed by a first dielectric material periodically patterned with a second dielectric material, the periodic pattern comprising features that are relatively small compared to a wavelength of the optical signal and configured to result in said negatively refractive behavior within said first frequency interval.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said at least one characteristic associated with said negatively refracting behavior that is tuned by the application of the control signal comprises at least one of a dimensional characteristic of said periodic pattern and a dielectric characteristic of one of said first and second dielectric materials.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said dispersion compensating material comprises an arrangement of electromagnetically reactive cells of small dimension relative to a wavelength of the optical signal configured to exhibit a negative effective permittivity and a negative effective permeability within said first frequency range.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said at least one characteristic associated with said negatively refracting behavior that is tuned by the application of the control signal comprises at least one of a capacitive property and inductive property of said electromagnetically reactive cells.

9. An apparatus for dispersion compensation for an optical signal having a first frequency range, comprising:

a dispersion compensating material having a negatively refracting behavior within said first frequency range; and

a controller for applying a control signal to said dispersion compensating material;

wherein at least one characteristic of the dispersion compensating material associated with said negatively refracting behavior is affected by the control signal such that the dispersion compensation is tunable according to the control signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , said dispersion compensating material being configured such that said first wavelength range is near a resonant frequency of the dispersion compensating material but does not include said resonant frequency.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising a dispersion analyzer positioned to receive a portion of a compensated signal resulting from propagation of the optical signal through a dispersive medium and said dispersion compensating material, said controller being coupled to the dispersion analyzer to receive a first signal at least partially representative of an amount of residual dispersion in the compensated signal, the control signal applied by said controller being at least partially based upon said first signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , said dispersion compensating material comprising a photonic crystal medium formed by a first dielectric material periodically patterned with a second dielectric material, the periodic pattern comprising features that are relatively small compared to a wavelength of the optical signal, wherein said at least one characteristic associated with said negatively refracting behavior that is tuned by the application of the control signal comprises at least one of a dimensional characteristic of said periodic pattern and a dielectric characteristic of one of said first and second dielectric materials.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said control signal applied by said controller to said photonic crystal medium comprises at least one of mechanical stress, mechanical strain, an electrostrictive actuation signal, a magnetostrictive actuation signal, a piezoelectric actuation signal, an electromagnetic actuation signal, an electromechanical actuation signal, and a microfluidic actuation signal, and wherein said photonic crystal comprises an externally powered gain material for providing at least one of net gain and reduced loss for the optical signal upon propagation therethrough.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said photonic crystal medium comprises one of a waveguiding slab of said first dielectric material periodically patterned with said second dielectric material and an optical fiber core of a glass material periodically patterned with holes oriented in an anti-axial direction occupied by material of a substantially different dielectric constant than said glass material.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein said dispersion compensating material comprises an arrangement of electromagnetically reactive cells of small dimension relative to a wavelength of the optical signal and configured to exhibit a negative effective permittivity and a negative effective permeability within said first frequency range, and wherein said at least one characteristic associated with said negatively refracting behavior that is tuned by the application of the control signal comprises at least one of a capacitive property and inductive property of said electromagnetically reactive cells.

16. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein said dispersion compensating material comprises:

a dielectric matrix material; and

a population of conductive nanostructures that are substantially random with respect to at least one of size, shape, orientation, and location and that have a minor dimension less than about one fiftieth of said incident radiation wavelength;

wherein said at least one characteristic associated with said negatively refracting behavior that is tuned by the application of the control signal comprises one of an overall dimension of the dielectric matrix material and an optical pumping level of an optical gain material disposed within said dielectric matrix material.

17. A tunable device for compensating dispersion in an optical signal propagated through a dispersive medium, the optical signal having a first frequency range, the dispersive medium having a first dispersion characteristic over said first frequency range, the tunable device comprising:

a dispersion compensating material that exhibits a negatively refracting behavior and has a second dispersion characteristic of opposite sign and substantially greater magnitude than said first dispersion characteristic within said first frequency range; and

means for dynamically controlling at least one property of the dispersion compensating material associated with said negatively refracting behavior, said dynamic controlling of the at least one property operatively tuning said second dispersion characteristic of said dispersion compensating material.

18. The tunable device of claim 17 , wherein said dispersion compensating material is configured such that said first wavelength range is near a resonant frequency of the dispersion compensating material but does not include said resonant frequency.

19. The tunable device of claim 18 , further comprising means for generating a first signal representative of an amount of residual dispersion in the optical signal upon propagation through both of said dispersive medium and dispersion compensating material, wherein said means for dynamically controlling comprises means for receiving said first signal, and wherein said means for dynamically controlling controls said at least one property in a manner that maintains said first signal at a minimum level.

20. The tunable device of claim 19 , wherein said optical signal comprises a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal, wherein said first frequency range corresponds to a contiguous free-space wavelength range about 10 nm wide and lying between 1500 nm-1550 nm, wherein said dispersion compensating material comprises one of a tunable photonic crystal device and a tunable arrangement of resonant cells configured to exhibit said negatively refracting behavior within said first frequency range, and wherein said second dispersion characteristic is more negative than about −2000 ps/(nm-km) within said first frequency range.