Photonic Circuits for Broadband, High Dynamic Range Analog RF Applications

Infinera and the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) will team up to create a 10 channel wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) analog transmission system capable of handling the RF systems requirements of naval aircraft. Infinera will develop an analog photonic integrated circuit (APIC) platform by incorporating a wide-bandwidth, high dynamic range analog modulator together with a tunable light source, power monitor, variable attenuator, and a high-speed electrical interconnect technology, to form an analog transmitter PIC. The transmitter modulator will be matched with a linearizing driver, designed by GEDC, to provide instantaneous bandwidths up to and exceeding 1GHz for operational frequencies from sub-100 MHz to 20 GHz. Infinera will use it's current commercial platform to design a receiver PIC capable of hybrid integration with commercial transimpedance amplifiers or application specific electronics designed by the GEDC to complete the receiver module. The APIC platform will also be developed with high yield and manufacturability in mind, sharing common epitaxial layers and processing steps with the standard telecom qualified PIC processes utilized in existing commercial devices from Infinera. The electronic driver and receiving circuits will be laid out using industry standard commercial design practices well known to the GEDC.