The nature of pulse propagation through a material with a negative value of the group velocity has been mysterious, as simple models seem to predict that pulses will propagate "backward" through such a material. Using an erbium-doped optical fiber and measuring the time evolution of the pulse intensity at many points within the fiber, we demonstrate that the peak of the pulse does propagate backward inside the fiber, even though the energy flow is always in the forward direction.

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We propose and report on what we believe to be the first experimental demonstration of an all-optical fiber-based Fredkin gate for reversible digital logic. The simple 3-input/3-output fiber-based nonlinear optical loop mirror architecture requires only minor alignment for full operation. A short nonlinear element, heavily doped GeO(2) fiber (HDF), allows for a more compact design than typical nonlinear fiber gates. The HDF is ideal for studying reversibility, functioning as a noise-limited medium, as compared to the semiconductor optical amplifier, while allowing for cross-phase modulation, a nondissipative optical interaction. We suggest applications for secure communications, based on "cool" computing.