Open AccessAll-optical DAC using counter-propagating optical and electrical pulses in a Mach-Zehnder modulator
Author(s) -
Arthur J. Lowery
Publication year - 2014
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.22.026429
Subject(s) - jitter , optics , electro optic modulator , optical modulator , modulation (music) , optical modulation amplitude , pulse shaping , pulse amplitude modulation , amplitude modulation , noise (video) , optical filter , physics , pulse (music) , optical amplifier , phase modulation , frequency modulation , phase noise , laser , telecommunications , computer science , radio frequency , detector , acoustics , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics)
A novel method of converting binary-level electrical pulses into multi-level optical pulses using only a conventional traveling-wave optical modulator is presented. The method provides low inter-pulse interference due to the counter-propagating pulses, low amplitude noise, and a timing jitter determined chiefly by the quality of the optical pulse source. The method only requires one electrical drive per modulator and provides low-jitter variable-amplitude optical pulses that are suitable for shaping into a wide variety of modulation formats using a programmable optical filter.