Novel, Very Wide-Bandwidth Characterization Technique

EOSPACE proposes developing a practical, very-wide-bandwidth electrical characterization technique based on advanced photonic signal processing. The characterization method only requires a high-speed mm-wave source and uses exclusively low-speed optical detection, eliminating the need for high-speed photodiodes. This effort would build on the recent breakthroughs in ultra-wide-bandwidth electro-optic modulator characterization methods at EOSPACE. The proposed technique is a fast, swept-frequency approach and is robust against virtually all common weaknesses in photonic measurement systems, such as optical power fluctuations and spectral changes in the optical source and electrical small-signal limit restrictions. The optical paths in the measurement system are entirely in optical waveguides, optical-bias and alignment-free, and the system has no mechanical moving parts. As the method does not rely on high-speed photodetection, it can be extended beyond 110 GHz to 1THzmerely by changing the electrical signal generator. Additionally, unlike many photonic methods, our characterization method can operate down to a few hundred kHz.