FAST RELIABLE ELECTRO-OPTIC MODULATION TECHNOLOGY

A VERSATILE, HIGH-VOLTAGE PULSE GENERATOR THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR POCKELS-CELL DRIVER APPLICATIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED. THE DEVICE IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FAST RISE AND FALL TIMES, AND PROVIDES FOR HIGH REPETITION FREQUENCY OPERATION. THE NOVEL SYSTEM IS BASED ON A HYBRID TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATING A PAIR OF PLANAR TRIODES AS THE HIGH-VOLTAGE SWITCHING ELEMENTS, WHICH ARE DRIVEN BY RELATIVELY LOW-VOLTAGE MOSFET DEVICES. PLANAR TRIODES ARE HIGHLY RELIABLE TUBES CAPABLE OF SWITCHING HIGH VOLTAGESON A NANOSECOND TIME SCALE. THESE VACUUM TUBES OFFER IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES OVER HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSISTORS, CONSIDERING THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT MOSFET TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH INCORPORATING TWO TUBES, FAST RISE AND FALL TIMES CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH THE ADDED CAPABILITY FOR ARBITRARY TEMPORAL POSITIONING OF THE RISING AND FALLING EDGES OF THE HIGH-VOLTAGE PULSE. THUS, THE SYSTEM IS SUITABLE FOR PULSE WIDTH MODULATION APPLICATIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS, AS WELL AS IN A WIDE RANGE OF COMMERCIAL LASER APPLICATIONS REQUIRING FAST PULSE SELECTION AND CONTROL. A VERSATILE, HIGH-VOLTAGE PULSE GENERATOR THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR POCKELS-CELL DRIVER APPLICATIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED. THE DEVICE IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FAST RISE AND FALL TIMES, AND PROVIDES FOR HIGH REPETITION FREQUENCY OPERATION. THE NOVEL SYSTEM IS BASED ON A HYBRID TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATING A PAIR OF PLANAR TRIODES AS THE HIGH-VOLTAGE SWITCHING ELEMENTS, WHICH ARE DRIVEN BY RELATIVELY LOW-VOLTAGE MOSFET DEVICES. PLANAR TRIODES ARE HIGHLY RELIABLE TUBES CAPABLE OF SWITCHING HIGH VOLTAGESON A NANOSECOND TIME SCALE. THESE VACUUM TUBES OFFER IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES OVER HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSISTORS, CONSIDERING THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT MOSFET TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH INCORPORATING TWO TUBES, FAST RISE AND FALL TIMES CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH THE ADDED CAPABILITY FOR ARBITRARY TEMPORAL POSITIONING OF THE RISING AND FALLING EDGES OF THE HIGH-VOLTAGE PULSE. THUS, THE SYSTEM IS SUITABLE FOR PULSE WIDTH MODULATION APPLICATIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS, AS WELL AS IN A WIDE RANGE OF COMMERCIAL LASER APPLICATIONS REQUIRING FAST PULSE SELECTION AND CONTROL.