Microwave and RF Applications for Micro-resonator based Frequency Combs

Photonic integrated circuits that exploit nonlinear optics in order to generate and process signals all-optically have achieved performance far superior to that possible electronically - particularly with respect to speed. We review the recent achievements based in new CMOS-compatible platforms that are better suited than SOI for nonlinear optics, focusing on radio frequency (RF) and microwave based applications that exploit micro-resonator based frequency combs. We highlight their potential as well as the challenges to achieving practical solutions for many key applications. These material systems have opened up many new capabilities such as on-chip optical frequency comb generation and ultrafast optical pulse generation and measurement. We review recent work on a photonic RF Hilbert transformer for broadband microwave in-phase and quadrature-phase generation based on an integrated frequency optical comb. The comb is generated using a nonlinear microring resonator based on a CMOS compatible, high-index contrast, doped-silica glass platform. The high quality and large frequency spacing of the comb enables filters with up to 20 taps, allowing us to demonstrate a quadrature filter with more than a 5-octave (3 dB) bandwidth and an almost uniform phase response.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 68 references. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1512.0174

Novel ring resonator-based integrated photonic beamformer for broadband phased array receive antennas - part I: design and performance analysis

A novel optical beamformer concept is introduced that can be used for seamless control of the reception angle in broadband wireless receivers employing a large phased array antenna (PAA). The core of this beamformer is an optical beamforming network (OBFN), using ring resonator-based broadband delays, and coherent optical combining. The electro-optical conversion is performed by means of single-sideband suppressed carrier modulation, employing a common laser, Mach-Zehnder modulators, and a common optical sideband filter after the OBFN. The unmodulated laser signal is then re-injected in order to perform balanced coherent optical detection, for the opto-electrical conversion. This scheme minimizes the requirements on the complexity of the OBFN, and has potential for compact realization by means of full integration on chip. The impact of the optical beamformer concept on the performance of the full receiver system is analyzed, by modeling the combination of the PAA and the beamformer as an equivalent two-port RF system. The results are illustrated by a numerical example of a PAA receiver for satellite TV reception, showing that—when properly designed—the beamformer hardly affects the sensitivity of the receiver

Photonic RF signal processors

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the emerging possibilities of processing radiofrequency (RF) or microwave signals in optical domain, which will be a key technology to implement next-generation mobile communication systems and future optical networks. Research activities include design and modelling of novel photonic architectures for processing and filtering of RF, microwave and millimeter wave signals of the above mentioned applications. Investigations especially focus on two basic functions and critical requirements in advanced RF systems, namely: • Interference mitigation and high Q tunable filters. • Arbitrary filter transfer function generation. The thesis begins with a review on several state-of-the-art architectures of in-fiber RF signal processing and related key optical technologies. The unique capabilities offered by in-fiber RF signal processors for processing ultra wide-band, high-frequency signals directly in optical domain make them attractive options for applications in optical networks and wide-band microwave signal processing. However, the principal drawbacks which have been demonstrated so far in the in-fiber RF signal processors arc their inflexible or expensive schemes to set tap weights and time delay. Laser coherence effects also limit sampling frequency and introduce additional phase-induced intensity noise

Comb-Based Radio-Frequency Photonic Filters with Rapid Tunability and High Selectivity

Photonic technologies have received considerable attention for enhancement of radio-frequency (RF) electrical systems, including high-frequency analog signal transmission, control of phased arrays, analog-to-digital conversion, and signal processing. Although the potential of radio-frequency photonics for implementation of tunable electrical filters over broad RF bandwidths has been much discussed, realization of programmable filters with highly selective filter lineshapes and rapid reconfigurability has faced significant challenges. A new approach for RF photonic filters based on frequency combs offers a potential route to simultaneous high stopband attenuation, fast tunability, and bandwidth reconfiguration. In one configuration tuning of the RF passband frequency is demonstrated with unprecedented (~40 ns) speed by controlling the optical delay between combs. In a second, fixed filter configuration, cascaded four-wave mixing simultaneously broadens and smoothes comb spectra, resulting in Gaussian RF filter lineshapes exhibiting extremely high (>60 dB) main lobe to sidelobe suppression ratio and (>70 dB) stopband attenuation.Comment: Updated the submission with the most recent version of the pape

Phase sensitive low-coherence interferometry using microwave

We report on a low-coherence interferometer based on Microwave Photonics (MWP) which allows, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, stable determination of the interferogram’s phase. The interferometer is built on suppressed carrier, double-sideband modulation, dispersive propagation in a chirped fiber Bragg grating, demodulation by electrooptical frequency down-conversion, and suitable signal processing techniques to account for modulation impairments. Taking as a reference a direct normalization of the link’s microwave response, the system retrieves high-resolution interferograms, both in amplitude and phase and free from distortion induced by higher-order dispersion, in an optical path difference of 16.3 mm, surpassing previously reported values based on MWP implementations. We present representative applications targeted to the characterization of C-band sources and components, such as direct analysis of interferograms with 5.5 fs temporal resolution, Fourier-transform spectroscopy with 14 GHz spectral resolution, and optical low-coherence reflectrometry of the impulse response’s amplitude of fiber Bragg gratings with 0.55 m spatial resolution

Low Noise And Low Repetition Rate Semiconductor-based Mode-locked Lasers

The topic of this dissertation is the development of low repetition rate and low noise semiconductor-based laser sources with a focus on linearly chirped pulse laser sources. In the past decade chirped optical pulses have found a plethora of applications such as photonic analogto-digital conversion, optical coherence tomography, laser ranging, etc. This dissertation analyzes the aforementioned applications of linearly chirped pulses and their technical requirements, as well as the performance of previously demonstrated chirped pulse laser sources. Moreover, the focus is shifted to a specific application of the linearly chirped pulses, timestretched photonic analog-to-digital conversion (TS ADC). The challenges of surpassing the speeds of current electronic converters are discussed, while the need for low noise linearly chirped pulse lasers becomes apparent for the realization of TS ADC. The experimental research addresses the topic of low noise chirped pulse generation in three distinct ways. First, a chirped pulse (Theta) laser with an intra-cavity Fabry-Pérot etalon and a long-term referencing mechanism is developed that results in the reduction of the pulse-topulse energy noise. Noise suppression of \u3e 15 times is demonstrated. Moreover, an optical frequency comb with spacing equal to the repetition rate (≈100 MHz) is generated using the etalon, resulting in the first reported demonstration of a system operating in the sub-GHz regime based on semiconductor gain. The path for the development of the Theta laser was laid by the precise characterization of the etalon used in this laser cavity design. A narrow linewidth laser is used in conjunction with an acousto-optic modulator externally swept for measuring the etalon\u27s iv free spectral range with a sub-Hz precision, or 10 parts per billion. Furthermore, the measurement of the etalon long-term drift and birefringence lead to the development of a modified intra-cavity Hänsch-Couillaud locking mechanism for the Theta laser. Moreover, an external feed-forward system was demonstrated that aimed at increasing the temporal/spectral uniformity of the optical pulses. A complete characterization of the system is demonstrated. On a different series of experiments, the pulses emitted by an ultra-low noise but high repetition rate mode-locked laser were demultiplexed resulting in a low repetition rate pulse train. Experimental investigation of the noise properties of the laser proved that they are preserved during the demultiplexing process. The noise of the electrical gate used in this experiment is also investigated which led into the development of a more profound understanding of the electrical noise of periodical pulses and a mechanism of measuring their noise. The appendices in this dissertation provide additional material used for the realization of the main research focus of the dissertation. Measurements of the group delay of the etalon used in the Theta laser are presented in order to demonstrate the limiting factors for the development of this cavity design. The description of a balancing routine is presented, that was used for expanding the dynamic range of intra-cavity active variable delay. At last, the appendix presents the calculations regarding the contribution of various parameters in the limitations of analog-todigital conversion

Dispositivos fotónicos para processamento de sinais ópticos e de RF

Doutoramento em Engenharia ElectrotécnicaO presente trabalho tem por objectivo o estudo de novos dispositivos fotónicos aplicados a sistemas de comunicações por fibra óptica e a sistemas de processamento de sinais RF. Os dispositivos apresentados baseiam-se em processamento de sinal linear e não linear. Dispositivos lineares ópticos tais como o interferómetro de Mach-Zehnder permitem adicionar sinais ópticos com pesos fixos ou sintonizáveis. Desta forma, este dispositivo pode ser usado respectivamente como um filtro óptico em amplitude com duas saídas complementares, ou, como um filtro óptico de resposta de fase sintonizável. O primeiro princípio de operação serve como base para um novo sistema fotónico de medição em tempo real da frequência de um sinal RF. O segundo princípio de operação é explorado num novo sistema fotónico de direccionamento do campo eléctrico radiado por um agregado de antenas, e também num novo compensador sintonizável de dispersão cromática. O processamento de sinal é não linear quando sinais ópticos são atrasados e posteriormente misturados entre si, em vez de serem linearmente adicionados. Este princípio de operação está por detrás da mistura de um sinal eléctrico com um sinal óptico, que por sua vez é a base de um novo sistema fotónico de medição em tempo real da frequência de um sinal RF. A mistura de sinais ópticos em meios não lineares permite uma operação eficiente numa grande largura espectral. Tal operação é usada para realizar conversão de comprimento de onda sintonizável. Um sinal óptico com multiplexagem no domínio temporal de elevada largura de banda é misturado com duas bombas ópticas não moduladas com base em processos não lineares paramétricos num guia de ondas de niobato de lítio com inversão periódica da polarização dos domínios ferroeléctricos. Noutro trabalho, uma bomba pulsada em que cada pulso tem um comprimento de onda sintonizável serve como base a um novo conversor de sinal óptico com multiplexagem no domínio temporal para um sinal óptico com multiplexagem no comprimento de onda. A bomba é misturada com o sinal óptico de entrada através de um processo não linear paramétrico numa fibra óptica com parâmetro não linear elevado. Todos os dispositivos fotónicos de processamento de sinal linear ou não linear propostos são experimentalmente validados. São também modelados teoricamente ou através de simulação, com a excepção dos que envolvem mistura de sinais ópticos. Uma análise qualitativa é suficiente nestes últimos dispositivos.This work investigates novel photonic devices for optical fiber communication systems and microwave photonics. Such devices rely on linear and nonlinear optical signal processing. Basic linear optical devices such as the Mach-Zehnder delay interferometer enable delaying and adding optical signals with fixed or variable weights. Therefore, such device can be respectively used as an optical amplitude filter with two complementary optical outputs, or, as an optical phase filter with tunable group delay response. The first operation principle is explored in a novel instantaneous RF frequency measurement system, whereas the latter serves as basis to a novel photonic beamforming system for a phase array antenna, and also to a novel tunable optical dispersion compensator. Nonlinear optical signal processing is obtained when optical signals are delayed and mixed, instead of being linearly added. Such operation principle is behind electro-optical mixing, which is explored in a novel instantaneous RF frequency measurement system. All-optical mixing enables ultra-fast and thereby broad bandwidth operation. This operation principle is explored to obtain tunable wavelength conversion. An optical time division multiplexed signal with a large spectral width is parametrically mixed with two continuous wave pumps in a periodically-poled lithium niobate waveguide. Instead of continuous wave pumps, a pulsed pump in which each pulse has a tunable wavelength enables a novel routable optical time-to-wavelength division converter. The pump signal is parametrically mixed with the input optical signal in a highly nonlinear optical fiber. All the proposed linear and nonlinear optical signal processing devices are experimentally validated. In addition, theoretical modeling and simulations are presented in all concepts, with the exception of the ones which employ alloptical mixing. A qualitative analysis is sufficient for the latter devices

Photonic Vector Processing Techniques for Radiofrequency Signals

[EN] The processing of radiofrequency signals using photonics means is a discipline that appeared almost at the same time as the laser and the optical fibre. Photonics offers the capability of managing broadband radiofrequency (RF) signals thanks to its low transmission attenuation, a variety of linear and non-linear phenomena and, recently, the potential to implement integrated photonic subsystems. These features open the door for the implementation of multiple functionalities including optical transportation, up and down frequency conversion, optical RF filtering, signal multiplexing, de-multiplexing, routing and switching, optical sampling, tone generation, delay control, beamforming and photonic generation of digital modulations, and even a combination of several of these functionalities. This thesis is focused on the application of vector processing in the optical domain to radiofrequency signals in two fields of application: optical beamforming, and photonic vector modulation and demodulation of digital quadrature amplitude modulations. The photonic vector control enables to adjust the amplitude and phase of the radiofrequency signals in the optical domain, which is the fundamental processing that is required in different applications such as beamforming networks for direct radiating array (DRA) antennas and multilevel quadrature modulation. The work described in this thesis include different techniques for implementing a photonic version of beamforming networks for direct radiating arrays (DRA) known as optical beamforming networks (OBFN), with the objectives of providing a precise control in terrestrial applications of broadband signals at very high frequencies above 40 GHz in communication antennas, optimizing the size and mass when compared with the electrical counterparts in space application, and presenting new photonic-based OBFN functionalities. Thus, two families of OBFNs are studied: fibre-based true time delay architectures and integrated networks. The first allow the control of broadband signals using dispersive optical fibres with wavelength division multiplexing techniques and advanced functionalities such as direction of arrival estimation in receiving architectures. In the second, passive OBFNs based on monolithically-integrated Optical Butler Matrices are studied, including an ultra-compact solution using optical heterodyne techniques in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) material, and an alternative implementing a homodyne counterpart in germanium doped silica material. In this thesis, the application of photonic vector processing to the generation of quadrature digital modulations has also been investigated. Multilevel modulations are based on encoding digital information in discrete states of phase and amplitude of an electrical signal to enhance spectral efficiency, as for instance, in quadrature modulation. The signal process required for generating and demodulating this kind of signals involves vector processing (phase and amplitude control) and frequency conversion. Unlike the common electronic or digital implementation, in this thesis, different photonic based signal processing techniques are studied to produce digital modulation (photonic vector modulation, PVM) and demodulation (PVdM). These techniques are of particular interest in the case of broadband signals where the data rate required to be managed is in the order of gigabit per second, for applications like wireless backhauling of metro optical networks (known as fibre-to-the-air). The techniques described use optical dispersion in optical fibres, wavelength division multiplexing and photonic up/down conversion. Additionally, an optical heterodyne solution implemented monolithically in a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is also described.[ES] El procesamiento de señales de radiofrecuencia (RF) utilizando medios fotónicos es una disciplina que apareció casi al mismo tiempo que el láser y la fibra óptica. La fotónica ofrece la capacidad de manipular señales de radiofrecuencia de banda ancha, una baja atenuación, procesados basados en una amplia variedad de fenómenos lineales y no lineales y, recientemente, el potencial para implementar subsistemas fotónicos integrados. Estas características ofrecen un gran potencial para la implementación de múltiples funcionalidades incluyendo transporte óptico, conversión de frecuencia, filtrado óptico de RF, multiplexación y demultiplexación de señales, encaminamiento y conmutación, muestreo óptico, generación de tonos, líneas de retardo, conformación de haz en agrupaciones de antenas o generación fotónica de modulaciones digitales, e incluso una combinación de varias de estas funcionalidades. Esta tesis se centra en la aplicación del procesamiento vectorial en el dominio óptico de señales de radiofrecuencia en dos campos de aplicación: la conformación óptica de haces y la modulación y demodulación vectorial fotónica de señales digitales en cuadratura. El control fotónico vectorial permite manipular la amplitud y fase de las señales de radiofrecuencia en el dominio óptico, que es el procesamiento fundamental que se requiere en diferentes aplicaciones tales como las redes de conformación de haces para agrupaciones de antenas y en la modulación en cuadratura. El trabajo descrito en esta tesis incluye diferentes técnicas para implementar una versión fotónica de las redes de conformación de haces de en agrupaciones de antenas, conocidas como redes ópticas de conformación de haces (OBFN). Se estudian dos familias de redes: arquitecturas de retardo en fibra óptica y arquitecturas integradas. Las primeras permiten el control de señales de banda ancha utilizando fibras ópticas dispersivas con técnicas de multiplexado por división de longitud de onda y funcionalidades avanzadas tales como la estimación del ángulo de llegada de la señal en la antena receptora. En la segunda, se estudian redes de conformación pasivas basadas en Matrices de Butler ópticas integradas, incluyendo una solución ultra-compacta utilizando técnicas ópticas heterodinas en silicio sobre aislante (SOI), y una alternativa homodina en sílice dopado con germanio. En esta tesis, también se han investigado técnicas de procesado vectorial fotónico para la generación de modulaciones digitales en cuadratura. Las modulaciones multinivel codifican la información digital en estados discretos de fase y amplitud de una señal eléctrica para aumentar su eficiencia espectral, como por ejemplo la modulación en cuadratura. El procesado necesario para generar y demodular este tipo de señales implica el procesamiento vectorial (control de amplitud y fase) y la conversión de frecuencia. A diferencia de la implementación electrónica o digital convencional, en esta tesis se estudian diferentes técnicas de procesado fotónico tanto para la generación de modulaciones digitales (modulación vectorial fotónica, PVM) como para su demodulación (PVdM). Esto es de particular interés en el caso de señales de banda ancha, donde la velocidad de datos requerida es del orden de gigabits por segundo, para aplicaciones como backhaul inalámbrico de redes ópticas metropolitanas (conocida como fibra hasta el aire). Las técnicas descritas se basan en explotar la dispersión cromática de la fibra óptica, la multiplexación por división de longitud de onda y la conversión en frecuencia. Además, se presenta una solución heterodina implementada monolíticamente en un circuito integrado fotónico (PIC).[CA] El processament de senyals de radiofreqüència (RF) utilitzant mitjans fotònics és una disciplina que va aparèixer gairebé al mateix temps que el làser i la fibra òptica. La fotònica ofereix la capacitat de manipular senyals de radiofreqüència de banda ampla, una baixa atenuació, processats basats en una àmplia varietat de fenòmens lineals i no lineals i, recentment, el potencial per implementar subsistemes fotònics integrats. Aquestes característiques ofereixen un gran potencial per a la implementació de múltiples funcionalitats incloent transport òptic, conversió de freqüència, filtrat òptic de RF, multiplexació i demultiplexació de senyals, encaminament i commutació, mostreig òptic, generació de tons, línies de retard, conformació de feix en agrupacions d'antenes i la generació fotònica de modulacions digitals, i fins i tot una combinació de diverses d'aquestes funcionalitats. Aquesta tesi es centra en l'aplicació del processament vectorial en el domini òptic de senyals de radiofreqüència en dos camps d'aplicació: la conformació òptica de feixos i la modulació i demodulació vectorial fotònica de senyals digitals en quadratura. El control fotònic vectorial permet manipular l'amplitud i la fase dels senyals de radiofreqüència en el domini òptic, que és el processament fonamental que es requereix en diferents aplicacions com ara les xarxes de conformació de feixos per agrupacions d'antenes i en modulació multinivell. El treball descrit en aquesta tesi inclou diferents tècniques per implementar una versió fotònica de les xarxes de conformació de feixos en agrupacions d'antenes, conegudes com a xarxes òptiques de conformació de feixos (OBFN), amb els objectius de proporcionar un control precís en aplicacions terrestres de senyals de banda ampla a freqüències molt altes per sobre de 40 GHz en antenes de comunicacions, optimitzant la mida i el pes quan es compara amb els homòlegs elèctrics en aplicacions espacials, i la presentació de noves funcionalitats fotòniques per agrupacions d'antenes. Per tant, s'estudien dues famílies de OBFNs: arquitectures de retard en fibra òptica i arquitectures integrades. Les primeres permeten el control de senyals de banda ampla utilitzant fibres òptiques dispersives amb tècniques de multiplexació per divisió en longitud d'ona i funcionalitats avançades com ara l'estimació de l'angle d'arribada del senyal a l'antena receptora. A la segona, s'estudien xarxes de conformació passives basades en Matrius de Butler òptiques en fotònica integrada, incloent una solució ultra-compacta utilitzant tècniques òptiques heterodinas en silici sobre aïllant (SOI), i una alternativa homodina en sílice dopat amb germani. D'altra banda, també s'ha investigat en aquesta tesi tècniques de processament vectorial fotònic per a la generació de modulacions digitals en quadratura. Les modulacions multinivell codifiquen la informació digital en estats discrets de fase i amplitud d'un senyal elèctric per augmentar la seva eficiència espectral, com ara la modulació en quadratura. El processat necessari per generar i desmodular aquest tipus de senyals implica el processament vectorial (control d'amplitud i fase) i la conversió de freqüència. A diferència de la implementació electrònica o digital convencional, en aquesta tesi s'estudien diferents tècniques de processament fotònic tant per a la generació de modulacions digitals (modulació vectorial fotònica, PVM) com per la seva demodulació (PVdM). Això és de particular interès en el cas de senyals de banda ampla, on la velocitat de dades requerida és de l'ordre de gigabits per segon, per a aplicacions com backhaul sense fils de xarxes òptiques metropolitanes (coneguda com fibra fins l'aire). Les tècniques descrites es basen en explotar la dispersió cromàtica de la fibra òptica, la multiplexació per divisió en longitud d'ona i la conversió en freqüència. A més, es presePiqueras Ruipérez, MÁ. (2016). Photonic Vector Processing Techniques for Radiofrequency Signals [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/63264TESI

Automatic Tuning of Silicon Photonics Millimeter-Wave Transceivers Building Blocks

Today, continuously growing wireless traffic have guided the progress in the wireless communication systems. Now, evolution towards next generation (5G) wireless communication systems are actively researched to accommodate expanding future data traffic. As one of the most promising candidates, integrating photonic devices in to the existing wireless system is considered to improve the performance of the systems. Emerging silicon photonic integrated circuits lead this integration more practically, and open new possibilities to the future communication systems. In this dissertation, the development of the electrical wireless communication systems are briefly explained. Also, development of the microwave photonics and silicon photonics are described to understand the possibility of the hybrid SiP integrated wireless communication systems. A limitation of the current electrical wireless systems are addressed, and hybrid integrated mm-wave silicon photonic receiver, and silicon photonic beamforming transmitter are proposed and analyzed in system level. In the proposed mm-wave silicon photonic receiver has 4th order pole-zero silicon photonic filter in the system. Photonic devices are vulnerable to the process and temperature variations. It requires manual calibration, which is expensive, time consuming, and prone to human errors. Therefore, precise automatic calibration solution with modified silicon photonic filter structure is proposed and demonstrated. This dissertation demonstrates fully automatic tuning of silicon photonic all-pass filter (APF)-based pole/zero filters using a monitor-based tuning method that calibrates the initial response by controlling each pole and zero individually via micro-heaters. The proposed tuning approach calibrates severely degraded initial responses to the designed elliptic filter shapes and allows for automatic bandwidth and center frequency reconfiguration of these filters. This algorithm is demonstrated on 2nd- and 4th-order filters fabricated in a standard silicon photonics foundry process. After the initial calibration, only 300ms is required to reconfigure a filter to a different center frequency. Thermal crosstalk between the micro-heaters is investigated, with substrate thinning demonstrated to suppress this effect and reduce filter calibration to less than half of the original thick substrate times. This fully automatic tuning approach opens the possibility of employing silicon photonic filters in real communication systems. Also, in the proposed beamforming transmitter, true-time delay ring resonator based 1x4 beamforming network is imbedded. A proposed monitor-based tuning method compensates fabrication variations and thermal crosstalk by controlling micro-heaters individually using electrical monitors. The proposed tuning approach successfully demonstrated calibration of OBFN from severely degraded initial responses to well-defined group delay response required for the targeted radiating angle with a range of 60◦ (-30◦ to 30◦ ) in a linear beamforming antenna array. This algorithm is demonstrated on OBFN fabricated in a standard silicon photonics foundry process. The calibrated OBFN operates at 30GHz and provide 2GHz bandwidth. This fully automatic tuning approach opens the possibility of employing silicon OBFN in real wideband mm-wave wireless communication systems by providing robust operating solutions. All the proposed photonic circuits are implemented using the standard silicon photonic technologies, and resulted in several publications in IEEE/OSA Journals and Conferences