Open AccessCoherent time-stretch transformation for real-time capture of wideband signals
Author(s) -
Brandon Buckley,
Asad M. Madni,
Bahram Jalali
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.21.021618
Subject(s) - optics , wideband , fourier transform , transformation (genetics) , computer science , time domain , broadband , signal (programming language) , waveform , signal processing , sensitivity (control systems) , dispersion (optics) , physics , electronic engineering , digital signal processing , telecommunications , engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , radar , quantum mechanics , computer hardware , computer vision , gene , programming language
Time stretch transformation of wideband waveforms boosts the performance of analog-to-digital converters and digital signal processors by slowing down analog electrical signals before digitization. The transform is based on dispersive Fourier transformation implemented in the optical domain. A coherent receiver would be ideal for capturing the time-stretched optical signal. Coherent receivers offer improved sensitivity, allow for digital cancellation of dispersion-induced impairments and optical nonlinearities, and enable decoding of phase-modulated optical data formats. Because time-stretch uses a chirped broadband (>1 THz) optical carrier, a new coherent detection technique is required. In this paper, we introduce and demonstrate coherent time stretch transformation; a technique that combines dispersive Fourier transform with optically broadband coherent detection.