Frequency Down-conversion Research Articles

The Effect of Imide Substituents on the Excited State Properties of Perylene Diimide Derivatives

Solid state optical properties of fluorescent materials are important for many optical and electronic photonic devices such as organic light emitting diodes, frequency down-converters or luminescent solar concentrators. Perylene diimides (PDIs) represent one of the most popular organic semiconductors which find application in those phonic device applications. In this study, photophysical properties of two dibrominated PDI (DiBrPDIs), one of which contains a branched alkyl chain (2-ethylhexyl, 2-EH) and the other has an aromatic substituent (diisopropylphenyl, DIA) at the imide positions are comparatively studied. Besides their absorption and photoluminescence, lifetime and photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), photoinduced absorption properties (PIA) were also examined by fs-transient absorption spectroscopy. Due to their the same π conjugated system, DiBrPDI-DIA and DiBrPDI-2EH exhibited identical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra in solution phase (λabs:527 nm and λPL:552 nm). However, in their film phases which were prepared at the same conditions, DiBrPDI-DIA (λPL-DIA:596 nm; PLQY:73.4%) presented a shorter PL wavelength with a higher PLQY than that of DiBrPDI-2EH (λPL-2EH:649 nm; PLQY:36.7%). 3-D investigations performed by using Chem3D pro software addressed the higher intermolecular distance between the perylene rings induced by the bulky DIA groups, as the main reason of this difference.

A Miniaturized Ultra-Wideband Radar for UAV Remote Sensing Applications

This letter presents a novel approach to build a compact lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) radar for remote sensing applications. The proposed radar exploits the recent advancement of an automotive radar chip for broadband chirp generation and rapid data processing. To compensate for the path losses and improve penetration at the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequency range, up- and down-converters are developed to generate an ultra-wideband (UWB) (3.25–5.15 GHz) chirp signal. The total payload of the radar is 2.5 kg. The proposed radar is installed on an UAV and tested in the field at a 100-m altitude above the ground surface. The results show that the compact low-power UWB radar can be used to map vegetation and soil moisture with fine resolution.

Digital-Assisted Photonic Analog Wideband Multipath Self-Interference Cancellation

A digital-assisted photonic analog wideband radio-frequency multipath self-interference cancellation (SIC) and frequency downconversion method based on a dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator and the recursive least square (RLS) algorithm is proposed and demonstrated for in-band full-duplex systems. Besides the reference for the direct-path self-interference (SI) signal, the RLS algorithm is used to construct another reference for the residual SI signal from the direct path and the SI signals from the reflection paths. The proposed method can solve the performance limitation in the previously reported SIC methods of constructing the multipath SI signal using a single reference which is caused by the limited dynamic range of the digital-to-analog converter when the direct-path SI signal is much stronger than the sub-weak reflection-path SI signals. An experiment is performed. When the carrier frequency of the multipath SI signal is 10 GHz and the direct-path SI signal is much stronger than the sub-weak multipath SI signal, cancellation depths of about 26.7 and 26.1 dB are realized with SI baud rates of 0.5 and 1 Gbaud. When the direct-path SI signal and sub-weak multipath SI signal own closer power, the corresponding cancellation depths are 24.7 and 20.8 dB, respectively.

Dual-core optical fibers for efficient mid-infrared generation via third-order frequency mixing and coupling-length phase matching

Appropriately designed dual-core fibers using coupling-length phase matching (CLPM) allow for phase-matched frequency downconversion over wide frequency intervals using the third-order optical nonlinearity of glass. By tuning the distance between the two cores, CLPM allows continuously tunable phase matching for widely different wavelengths for the process in which a pump wave at a frequency ω 2 generates or amplifies two waves with frequencies ω 3 > --> ω 2 and ω 1 = 2 ω 2 − ω 3 . The intensity-dependent correction that accounts for nonlinear phase modulation is derived in general. In addition, a specific CLPM configuration is found to be insensitive to phase modulation, and can achieve 100% theoretical quantum yield for pump wave injection in one core. Fiber-based frequency converters can thus be designed for large differences between pump wavelengths and generated wavelengths, with the phase-matched interaction enabling the use of meter-long fibers to compensate for low third-order susceptibilities. Examples of fiber designs for pump wavelengths at 1.3 and 1.55 µ m , to generate radiation with wavelengths longer than 2 µ m , are discussed for silica and fluoride fibers.

Wideband Optical Vector Analysis Based on Microwave Photonic Frequency Downconversion

Wideband Optical Vector Analysis Based on Microwave Photonic Frequency Downconversion

Photonics-Assisted Frequency Conversion and Self-Interference Cancellation for In-Band Full-Duplex Communication

A photonics-assisted frequency conversion and self-interference cancellation approach is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for in-band full-duplex (IBFD) communication. Carrier suppressed single sidebands (CS-SSB) of the intermediate frequency (IF) signal and the local oscillator (LO) signal are simultaneously obtained through the X-DPMZM in a dual-polarization dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder (DP-DPMZM) modulator. A transmit signal with high purity is produced, and a shared LO optical sideband is also provided for the subsequent downconversion. The carrier suppressed double sideband (CS-DSB) modulation for the signal of interest (SOI) is achieved via the Y-DPMZM. The self-interference signal is suppressed by adjusting the bias voltage of its main MZM. An optical bandpass filter (OBPF) is combined to realize frequency downconversion. The experimental results show that the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> ) is 102.6 dB/Hz <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2/3</sup> for frequency upconversion, a cancellation depth of more than 50 dB for single-frequency self-interference cancellation (SIC), and more than 22 dB for wideband SIC. The proposed link has superiority in multifunctionality, including in-band transmission, reception, and self-interference cancellation, with a shared LO.

Photonic-Assisted Wideband Frequency Down-Converter With Leakage Cancellation and Image Rejection for FMCW Radar Receiver

Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radars with de-chirping receivers can achieve high resolution and real-time microwave imaging. However, the inherent leakage interference from transmitter to receiver and image interference from image frequencies will degrade sensitivity and dynamic range of the receiving system. In this paper, a novel photonic-assisted down-converter based on a dual-polarization binary phase-shift keying (DP-BPSK) modulator, which can achieve leakage cancellation and image rejection concurrently for wideband linear frequency modulated (LFM) signals, is proposed and demonstrated. Both theoretical analysis and simulation verification are performed. Considering this scheme in the application of a radar receiver, the leakage signal, signal of interest, and image signal are emulated as wideband LFM signals with 2GHz bandwidth centered at 20, 21, 19GHz. The simulation results show an excellent leakage cancellation depth and image rejection depth of 54dB and 53.5dB respectively. The proposed scheme can be applied in an FMCW radar receiver so as to optimize the detection performance.

Wireless Injection Locking of Zero-IF Self-Oscillating Mixers

The recently introduced Zero-IF self-oscillating mixers (SOMs) enable a direct frequency conversion, of interest for the implementation of compact and low consumption radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, among other applications. In previous works, the Zero-IF SOM is placed in only one of the terminals of the wireless link, the other one being based on a conventional scheme. In this article, a system made up of two wirelessly locked Zero-IF SOMs, operating as a frequency upconverter and downconverter, will be analyzed to evaluate its potential for low-cost short-range communications. A complete formulation describing the system under antenna and propagation effects will be presented, which, as a particular case, is able to predict the behavior of the previously proposed Zero-IF SOM, locked by an independent signal. The formulation based on oscillator models extracted from harmonic balance allows deriving design criteria for an optimum and robust performance and can predict the maximum communication range, as well as the stability properties and phase-noise behavior. The operation under modulated conditions is analyzed with a novel envelope-transient formulation, accounting for the time differentiation caused by the propagation effects. The methods have been applied to a system of two Zero-IF SOMs operating at 900 MHz.

Interference Cancellation and Frequency Down-Conversion Receiver Based on Sagnac Loop

Interference Cancellation and Frequency Down-Conversion Receiver Based on Sagnac Loop

Design and Performance Estimation of a Photonic Integrated Beamforming Receiver for Scan-on-Receive Synthetic Aperture Radar

Synthetic aperture radar is a remote sensing technology finding applications in a wide range of fields, especially related to Earth observation. It enables a fine imaging that is crucial in critical activities, like environmental monitoring for natural resource management or disasters prevention. In this picture, the scan-on-receive paradigm allows for enhanced imaging capabilities thanks to wide swath observations at finer azimuthal resolution achieved by beamforming of multiple simultaneous antenna beams. Recently, solutions based on microwave photonics techniques demonstrated the possibility of an efficient implementation of beamforming, overcoming some limitations posed by purely electronic solutions, offering unprecedented flexibility and precision to RF systems. Moreover, photonics-assisted RF beamformers can nowadays be realized as integrated circuits, with reduced size and power consumption with respect to digital beamforming approaches. This paper presents the design analysis and the challenges of the development of a hybrid photonic-integrated circuit as the core element of an X-band scan-on-receive spaceborne synthetic aperture radar. The proposed photonic-integrated circuit synthetizes three simultaneous scanning beams on the received signal, and performs the frequency down-conversion, guaranteeing a compact 15 cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> -form factor, less than 6 W power consumption, and 55 dB of dynamic range. The whole photonics-assisted system is designed for space compliance and meets the target application requirements, representing a step forward toward a deeper penetration of photonics in microwave applications for challenging scenarios, like the observation of the Earth from space.

Photonic-assisted radio frequency self-interference cancellation and frequency down-conversion based on polarization multiplexing modulation.

We report a photonic-assisted radio frequency self-interference cancellation (RF-SIC) and frequency down-conversion scheme based on a dual-polarization Mach-Zehnder modulator (DP-MZM) by using a polarization manipulation method. In the proposed scheme, the self-interference signal is directly canceled in the optical domain by simply controlling the polarization states between the output of the DP-MZM and the polarizer. Frequency down-conversion is achieved by optoelectronic frequency mixing. In the proof-of-concept experiment, the interference cancellation of the single-frequency signal and wideband signal was conducted. The proposed RF-SIC and frequency down-conversion system has flexible tunability, simple structure, and low cost, which can find potential applications in radio-over-fiber systems.

Controlling the transverse correlation in quasi-phase matching parametric down-conversion

In this work we study the transverse spatial correlation of the pair of photons generated via the process of spontaneous parametric frequency down-conversion, in periodically poled non-linear crystals illuminated by a pulsed laser beam. It is well known that the two-photon state generated in quasi-phase matching (QPM) configurations depends explicitly on the characteristics of the pump beam, on the crystal modulated non-linearity, and on the detection geometry. This has allowed the development of several techniques for controlling the biphoton spectral and spatial properties. Here we discuss another technique for implementing the spatial entanglement modification in QPM gratings. We show, theoretically and experimentally, that in nearly collinear geometries, the spatial shape modulation of the pump beam allows for the control of the biphoton transverse spatial correlation.

Multi-band low-noise microwave-signal-receiving system with a photonic frequency down-conversion and transfer-learning network.

In this Letter, we propose and demonstrate a multi-band signal-receiving system, powered by photonic frequency down-conversion and transfer learning. A photonic frequency down-conversion system directly receives the microwave signals, and the transfer-learning network (TLN) lowers the noise in the signals. In addition to the effectiveness of denoising, the TLN also features ultra-fast retraining for signals of different types or different multi-band frequencies. Experimental results showed that the proposed microwave-signal-receiving system can improve the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio of signals of different types, SNR, and duty cycles. For network retraining, the TLN requires only three times less data and 10 times less time consumption than conventional training methods.

Progress on intra-pulse difference frequency generation in femtosecond laser

Mid-infrared (MIR) lasers have various advantages and can be widely used in either fundamental research fields or practical applications such as strong-field physics, molecular sensing and minimally-invasive tissue ablation. Generally, there are two categories of methods to generate MIR laser emission: one is direct lasing and the other is nonlinear frequency down-conversion. However, for the ultra-broadband few-cycle MIR generation, nonlinear down-conversion is the only available method. Intra-pulse Difference Frequency Generation (IP-DFG) is a simple method of nonlinear frequency conversion. In this article, the IP-DFG technology for the ultra-broadband MIR few-cycle pulses generation is reviewed. Different MIR nonlinear crystals, various driving laser sources, the spectral coverage of the MIR-IPDF output, and the conversion efficiency are compared and discussed. Last but not least, the prospects and challenges of MIR IP-DFG are presented.

Millimeter-level resolution through-the-wall radar imaging enabled by an optically injected semiconductor laser.

Millimeter-level resolution through-the-wall radar (TWR) imaging is demonstrated using a broadband nonlinear frequency-modulated (NLFM) signal that is generated by an optically injected semiconductor laser. The proposed system uses period-one dynamics of a semiconductor laser, together with an optical frequency downconversion technique to generate NLFM signals, which addresses the problem of traditional period-one oscillation not being able to generate broadband signals in the low-frequency region. In the experiment, an NLFM signal having a broad bandwidth of 18.5 GHz (1.5-20 GHz) is generated with a corresponding radar range resolution of 8.1 mm. Using this signal, TWR imaging is demonstrated, in which the use of the NLFM signal achieves good side-lobe suppression during pulse compression, and a modified back projection imaging algorithm with sub-aperture weighting is proposed to improve the imaging quality.

Nonlinear frequency down-conversion of acoustic wave beams in the atmosphere and ionosphere under different types of modulation (regular item)

It is investigated theoretically the nonlinear down-conversion of powerful extremely low frequency (ELF) modulated acoustic wave beams at the carrier frequencies 1–20 Hz into ultra-low frequency (ULF) acoustic waves at the frequencies 0.01–0.1 Hz under the propagation upwards within the atmosphere and ionosphere. The approximation of the slowly varying profile is used. It is shown that under a fixed value of the integral power of the initial acoustic ELF beam there exists the optimal value of the initial transverse width where the maximum down-conversion is realized. The different types of the modulation are considered, namely the simplest two-frequency modulation and multifrequency noise-like one. The using of the complex multifrequency modulation results in the increase of the efficiency of the down-conversion within the ionosphere E- and F-layers.

Optical Frequency Down-Conversion With Bandwidth Compression Based on Counter-Propagating Phase Matching

Optical quantum network plays an important role in large scale quantum communication. However, different components for photon generation, transmission, storage and manipulation in network usually cannot interact directly due to the wavelength and bandwidth differences, and thus interfaces are needed to overcome such problems. We propose an optical interface for frequency down-conversion and bandwidth compression based on the counter-propagating quasi-phase-matching difference frequency generation process in the periodically-poled lithium niobate on insulator waveguide. We prove that a separable spectral transfer function can be obtained only by choosing proper pump bandwidth, thus relaxing the limitation of material, dispersion, and working wavelength as a result of the counter-propagation phase-matching configuration. With numerical simulations, we show that our design results in a nearly separable transfer function with the Schmidt number very close to 1. With proper pump bandwidth, an photon at central wavelength of 550 nm with a bandwidth ranging from 50 GHz to 5 THz can be converted to a photon at central wavelength of 1,545 nm with a much narrower bandwidth of 33 GHz.

Dynamics and Bifurcations in Networks Designed for Frequency Conversion

This article reviews recent progress in signal frequency up-conversion and down-conversion, both theory and experiments with network implementations. The fundamental idea is to exploit the inherent symmetry of networks to produce collective behavior in which certain oscillators tend to oscillate at different frequencies. This concept is significantly different from other techniques, e.g. master-slave systems, in the sense that the collective behavior arises naturally from the mutual interactions of the individual units, and without any external forcing. In this manuscript, we present a comprehensive review of the basic ideas, methods, and experiments of the symmetry-based phenomenon of frequency conversion. In addition, we present a review of a device implementation of a broad spectrum analyzer, which motivated the development of systematic methods to up- and down-convert frequencies of oscillations. This device is made up of large parallel arrays of analog nonlinear oscillators with the ability to receive complex signals containing multiple frequencies and instantaneously lock-on or respond to a received signal in a few oscillation cycles.

Performance Assessment of W-Band Radiometers: Direct versus Heterodyne Detections

W-Band radiometers using intermediate frequency down-conversion (super-heterodyne) and direct detection are compared. Both receivers consist of two W-band low noise amplifiers and an 80-to-101 GHz filter, which conforms to the reception frequency band, in the front-end module. The back-end module of the first receiver comprises a subharmonic mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) amplification and a square-law detector. For direct detection, a W-Band detector replaces the mixer and the intermediate frequency detection stages. The performance of the whole receivers has been simulated requiring special techniques, based on data from the experimental characterization of each subsystem. In the super-heterodyne implementation a local oscillator at 27.1 GHz (with 8 dBm) with a x3 frequency multiplier is used, exhibiting an overall conversion gain around 48 dB, a noise figure around 4 dB, and an effective bandwidth over 10 GHz. In the direct detection scheme, slightly better noise performance is obtained, with a wider bandwidth, around 20 GHz, since there is no IF bandwidth limitation (~15 GHz), and even using the same 80-to-101 GHz filter, the detector can operate through the whole W-band. Moreover, W-band detector has higher sensitivity than the IF detector, increasing slightly the gain. In both cases, the receiver performance is characterized when a broadband noise input signal is applied. The radiometer characteristics have been obtained working as a total power radiometer and as a Dicke radiometer when an optical chopper is used to modulate the incoming signal. Combining this particular super-heterodyne or direct detection topologies and total power or Dicke modes of operation, four different cases are compared and discussed, achieving similar sensitivities, but better performances in terms of equivalent bandwidth and noise for the direct detection radiometer. It should be noted that this conclusion comes from a particular set of components, which we could consider as typical, but we cannot exclude other conclusions for different components, particularly for different mixers and detectors.

Microwave photonic frequency down-conversion with self-interference cancellation and SSBI mitigation

In this paper, we proposed a microwave photonic frequency down-conversion scheme with the functions of self-interference cancellation (SIC) and signal–signal beat interference (SSBI) mitigation. The scheme is based on a dual-polarization quadrature phase-shift keying (DP-QPSK) modulator. One of the dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator (DP-MZM) which is located in the upper part of the DP-QPSK modulator is used to achieve SIC by properly biasing the modulator. A local oscillator signal is loaded on the other DP-MZM which is located in the lower part of the DP-QPSK modulator. After photoelectric conversion of the combined optical signal by a photo-detector (PD), the signal of interest (SOI) is down-converted to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The SSBI is mitigated by Kramers–Kronig (KK) detection to achieve lower IF down-conversion. Experimental results show that the SIC for a single-tone interference signal is around 53 dB, and for an interference signal with a bandwidth of 100 MHz, the SIC achieved at least 29 dB. A simulation verifies the effect which the least mean square (LMS) algorithm mitigated on the influence of multipath After SIC, we used KK algorithm to reduce error vector magnitude (EVM) of the down-converted 16-QAM signal from 17.54% to 9.07%, which indicates a remarkable SSBI mitigation effect.