Publications

Advanced analog-optical sensor, signal processing and communication systems could benefit significantly from wideband (DC to > 50 GHz) optical modulators having both low half-wave voltage (V[pi]) and low optical insertion loss. An important figure-of-merit for modulators used in analog applications is TMAX/V[pi], where TMAX is the optical transmission of the modulator when biased for maximum transmission. Candidate electro-optic materials for realizing these modulators include lithium niobate (LiNbO3), polymers, and semiconductors, each of which has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, we report the development of 1.5-um-wavelength Mach-Zehnder modulators utilizing the electrorefractive effect in InGaAsP/InP symmetric, uncoupled semiconductor quantum-wells. Modulators with 1-cm-long, lumped-element electrodes are found to have a push-pull V[pi] of 0.9V (V[pi]L = 9 V-mm) and 18-dB fiber-to-fiber insertion loss (TMAX/V[pi] = 0.018). Fabry-Perot cutback measurements reveal a waveguide propagation loss of 7 dB/cm and a waveguide-to-fiber coupling loss of 5 dB/facet. The relatively high propagation loss results from a combination of below-bandedge absorption and scattering due to waveguide-sidewall roughness. Analyses show that most of the coupling loss can be eliminated though the use of monolithically integrated invertedtaper optical-mode converters, thereby allowing these modulators to exceed the performance of commercial LiNbO3 modulators (TMAX/V[pi] ~ 0.1). We also report the analog modulation characteristics of these modulators.

Optically sampled analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) combine optical sampling with electronic quantization to enhance the performance of electronic ADCs. In this paper, we review the prior and current work in this field, and then describe our efforts to develop and extend the bandwidth of a linearized sampling technique referred to as phase-encoded optical sampling. The technique uses a dual-output electrooptic sampling transducer to achieve both high linearity and 60-dB suppression of laser amplitude noise. The bandwidth of the technique is extended by optically distributing the post-sampling pulses to an array of time-interleaved electronic quantizers. We report on the performance of a 505-MS/s (megasample per second) optically sampled ADC that includes high-extinction LiNbO(3) 1-to-8 optical time-division demultiplexers. Initial characterization of the 505-MS/s system reveals a maximum signal-to-noise ratio of 51 dB (8.2 bits) and a spur-free dynamic range of 61 dB. The performance of the present system is limited by electronic quantizer noise, photodiode saturation, and preliminary calibration procedures. None of these fundamentally limit this sampling approach, which should enable multigigahertz converters with 12-b resolution. A signal-to-noise analysis of the phase-encoded sampling technique shows good agreement with measured data from the 505-MS/s system.