An Optical Front-End for Wideband Transceivers Based on Photonic Time Compression and Stretch

Abstract

This study proposes an optical front-end for wideband transceivers based on photonic time compression (PTC) and photonic time stretch (PTS) techniques. The PTC and PTS systems within a transceiver generate and receive wideband RF signals, respectively, which expand the processible signal bandwidth. We present analytical models for characterizing the optical front-end based on the PTC and PTS. The design of the front-end for signal generation and reception is also discussed, in which we emphasize the bandwidth match between the PTC-based transmitter and PTS-based receiver through an appropriate dispersion configuration. We conducted experiments on PTC and PTS systems with a single channel. Further simulation results for PTC and PTS systems with multiple channels for continuous-time operation are presented. The proposed front-end based on time compression/stretch can largely improve the signal bandwidth in systems using inexpensive low-speed analogue/digital converters.