Heterodyne Detection Method Research Articles

A review on photonic‐assisted dual‐chirp microwave waveform generation methods

AbstractIn recent times, photonic synthesis and processing of arbitrary microwave waveforms have gained interest due to their high frequency and huge time–bandwidth product. This study reviews methods for producing dual‐chirp microwave waveforms, focusing mostly on system topologies based on external modulation techniques, such as cascaded Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM), dual parallel MZM, and dual polarized MZM. Other photonic approaches, like using semiconductor laser and optical heterodyne detection methods, are also discussed. These techniques are preferable because of high frequency, enhanced time–bandwidth product, greater chirp rate, and many more advantages. Additionally, the difficulties associated with integrating the systems into real‐world applications are also addressed.

High-resolution nanoscale NMR for arbitrary magnetic fields

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers are a major platform for the detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals at the nanoscale. To overcome the intrinsic electron spin lifetime limit in spectral resolution, a heterodyne detection approach is widely used. However, application of this technique at high magnetic fields is yet an unsolved problem. Here, we introduce a heterodyne detection method utilizing a series of phase coherent electron nuclear double resonance sensing blocks, thus eliminating the numerous Rabi microwave pulses required in the detection. Our detection protocol can be extended to high magnetic fields, allowing chemical shift resolution in NMR experiments. We demonstrate this principle on a weakly coupled 13C nuclear spin in the bath surrounding single NV centers, and compare the results to existing heterodyne protocols. Additionally, we identify the combination of NV-spin-initialization infidelity and strong sensor-target-coupling as linewidth-limiting decoherence source, paving the way towards high-field heterodyne NMR protocols with chemical resolution.

Dual pulse heterodyne distributed acoustic sensor system employing SOA-based fiber ring laser

Distributed Acoustic Sensor (DAS) has potential in applications such as hydroacoustic detection. In this paper, a dual-pulse heterodyne distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) system using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based fiber ring laser (FRL) is proposed. Unlike the previous DAS system configurations, the SOA-based FRL replaces the narrow linewidth laser (NLL) and pulse modulator, reducing costs and simplifying the system. The system is demonstrated theoretically and validated experimentally. The adaptability of the SOA-based FRL in the heterodyne DAS system has been demonstrated in the experiments. Using the dual-pulse heterodyne detection method, the sensor system responds well to distributed acoustic detection and achieves accurate demodulation and positioning. A high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 42.51 dB at 3 kHz is demonstrated as a demodulation result. The system’s frequency range is 5 Hz to 5 kHz with a spatial resolution of 12 m. The proposed approach shows a broad application prospect for low-cost, large-scale, high-SNR distributed acoustic detection in maritime surveillance.

Performance evaluation of a time-division multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensor based onheterodyne detection.

Using a technique to observe reflection spectra, the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved for time-division multiplexed interrogation of three fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) based on heterodyne detection methods. To calculate peak reflection wavelengths of the FBG reflections, absorption lines of 12 C 2 H 2 are used as wavelength markers, and temperature dependence of the peak wavelength is measured for one FBG. Positioning the FBGs at a distance of 20km from the control port demonstrates the applicability of this method to a long sensor network.

Use of forbidden singlet–triplet electron transitions in photopolymer material for holographic recording with high intensity nanosecond laser pulses

The goal of this research is recording of volume holograms in thick photopolymer material, based on the use of forbidden singlet–triplet transitions of the dye-sensitizer with high intensity (up to 12 GW cm−2) nanosecond pulses at λ=532nm. The material has threshold character of recording, that can lead to improved three-dimensional (3D) control of photochemical or photophysical processes. This is especially important for the microholographic approach to 3D multilayer optical data storage. The concentrations of the dye-sensitizer and electron donor in the photopolymer was optimized, and high value of refractive index change of 3.1⋅10−3 was achieved. The sensitivity of the material under research is much higher than the sensitivity of materials using two-photon absorption, which made it possible to record microholograms by a single laser pulse. Using the method of heterodyne detection, we also studied the spatial distribution of the optical inhomogeneity in photopolymer material.

Heterodyne sensing of microwaves with a quantum sensor

Diamond quantum sensors are sensitive to weak microwave magnetic fields resonant to the spin transitions. However, the spectral resolution in such protocols is ultimately limited by the sensor lifetime. Here, we demonstrate a heterodyne detection method for microwaves (MW) leading to a lifetime independent spectral resolution in the GHz range. We reference the MW signal to a local oscillator by generating the initial superposition state from a coherent source. Experimentally, we achieve a spectral resolution below 1 Hz for a 4 GHz signal far below the sensor lifetime limit of kilohertz. Furthermore, we show control over the interaction of the MW-field with the two-level system by applying dressing fields, pulsed Mollow absorption and Floquet dynamics under strong longitudinal radio frequency drive. While pulsed Mollow absorption leads to improved sensitivity, the Floquet dynamics allow robust control, independent from the system’s resonance frequency. Our work is important for future studies in sensing weak microwave signals in a wide frequency range with high spectral resolution.

Terahertz single-photon radar detection technology

<p indent=0mm>Terahertz single-photon radar detection technology implements single-photon detection in the terahertz region. It combines the high-resolution characteristics of the terahertz wave and the extreme high detection sensitivity of the single-photon radar. Because the power response threshold is as low as the single-photon level, terahertz single-photon radar has an extremely low noise level with fairly high sensitivity. It is capable of detecting weak signals via the time-correlated single-photon counting technique, and it is expected to significantly extend the detection range of the current terahertz radar systems. In this paper, we at first reviewed the background of the terahertz single-photon radar detection technology, and expounded its principles, characteristics, and state-of-the-art technologies. We then proposed two typical technical approaches, including the direct detection and heterodyne detection methods, and presented an insight into the design of radar systems. Finally, we analyzed the current key issues in the terahertz single-photon radar detection technology and discussed its potential applications such as the radar range-extending, remote air defense early-warning, and anti-stealth. We believe that the results will provide a feasible technical approach to break through the bottlenecks of the detection capability and detection range of terahertz radar systems. Furthermore, the results would promote the innovation and development of the detection mechanism, methods, systems, and devices employed in terahertz technology. Thus, this study can provide a powerful impetus for the development and application of the terahertz technology, both in military and civilian fields.

A dual‐frequency continuous wave doppler lidar for velocity measurement at far distance

AbstractA dual‐frequency continuous wave Doppler lidar for long‐distance and high‐precision velocity measurement is experimentally demonstrated in this article. The lidar system uses the optical heterodyne detection method to avoid complicated optical coherent configuration. All Phase Fast Fourier Transform and Chirp‐Z Transform are used to obtain the Doppler frequency shift. The maximum of the calculated Doppler shift was 999.83 Hz with the frequency resolution of 0.54 Hz, and the corresponding theoretical velocity was determined to be 749.87 m/s. During the experiment, the speed of the car was successfully measured in the outdoor environment, the frequency and velocity resolutions were less than 0.5 Hz and ± 0.2 m/s, respectively, and the detection distance of moving and stationary targets reached 1100 m and 2300 m. The capability of the dual‐frequency Doppler lidar system has been verified.

QPSK detection using glow discharge detector and a photodiode for millimeter‐wave and terahertz communication

AbstractThe terahertz gap (0.1‐10 THz) is an attractive frequency band for new applications. In wireless communication, it can serve as a high capacity link. The lack in use of that gap exists due to a lack of available commercial communications technology systems in that region. We have found that neon indicator lamps or glow discharge detectors (GDD) can be used as simple and very inexpensive detectors in that frequency gap. In modern modulation techniques, the signal phase should be recovered. This article is a proof of concept of detection of quadratic amplitude modulated millimeter‐wave signals by a GDD and photodiode using a heterodyne detection method.

High-Temperature Sensitivity in Stimulated Brillouin Scattering of 1060 nm Single-Mode Fibers.

With the rapid advancement of Yb-doped fiber lasers (YDFL) whose output wavelength is near 1060 nm, passive fibers to carry the high optical power at the spectral range are also gaining significant importance. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in the passive fibers connecting components in the lasers, especially, can set a fundamental limit in the power handling of YDFL systems. We experimentally analyzed SBS characteristics of passive single mode fibers (SMF) at a wavelength of 1060 nm. For two types of SMFs (Corning HI1060 and HI1060Flex), the Brillouin frequency (νΒ), its linewidth (ΔνΒ), and their variations with respect to the input laser power and the surrounding temperature were experimentally measured, along with the SBS threshold power (Pth). The optical heterodyne detection method was used to identify temperature-dependent SBS characteristics of fibers, and we found SMFs at λ = 1060 nm showed a temperature sensitivity in SBS frequency shift more than 40% higher than in conventional SMFs operating in C-band. Detailed procedures to measure the SBS properties are explained, and a new potential of 1060 nm SMF as a distributed temperature sensor is also discussed.

Experimental observation for multi-mode dynamic output of fiber ring laser based on modulation condition

In order to detect and analyze the complex multi-mode dynamics of fiber ring laser (FRL), in this experiment, based on the heterodyne detection method together with radio-frequency spectrum, the output of FRL intensities on two kinds of modulation condition are synchronously detected and analyzed. From the low dimension to high dimension chaos, the total intensity and multi-mode characters can be synchronously acquired. These experimental results show the relationships between real-time intensity and frequency evolution behaviors about single mode and total mode. Moreover, according to experimental results, the chaotic characteristics and inner relationships of erbium-doped fiber ring laser (EDFRL) output mode dynamic can be analyzed.

Monolithically integrated erbium-doped tunable laser on a CMOS-compatible silicon photonics platform.

A tunable laser source is a crucial photonic component for many applications, such as spectroscopic measurements, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), frequency-modulated light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this article, we demonstrate the first monolithically integrated erbium-doped tunable laser on a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible silicon photonics platform. Erbium-doped Al2O3 sputtered on top is used as a gain medium to achieve lasing. The laser achieves a tunability from 1527 nm to 1573 nm, with a >40 dB side mode suppression ratio (SMSR). The wide tuning range (46 nm) is realized with a Vernier cavity, formed by two Si3N4 microring resonators. With 107 mW on-chip 980 nm pump power, up to 1.6 mW output lasing power is obtained with a 2.2% slope efficiency. The maximum output power is limited by pump power. Fine tuning of the laser wavelength is demonstrated by using the gain cavity phase shifter. Signal response times are measured to be around 200 μs and 35 µs for the heaters used to tune the Vernier rings and gain cavity longitudinal mode, respectively. The linewidth of the laser is 340 kHz, measured via a self-delay heterodyne detection method. Furthermore, the laser signal is stabilized by continuous locking to a mode-locked laser (MLL) over 4900 seconds with a measured peak-to-peak frequency deviation below 10 Hz.

Interrogation of Ultra-Weak FBG Array Using Double-Pulse and Heterodyne Detection

A high performance interrogation method for ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UWFBG) using double-pulse and a heterodyne detection method is proposed. The perturbation along the UWFBG array is located quickly through the use of double-pulsed optical input waveform. Then, the perturbation of fiber is quantified precisely by demodulating the phase of differential signals from a heterodyne configuration. The efficiency of measuring the perturbation is improved by more than 20 times than that of using a single probe pulse. In comparison with the conventional Rayleigh scattering-based approach, the proposed method is supreme in signal-to-noise ratio, approximately 18 dB higher. The use of differential signaling method can effectively remove the influence from frequency drift of the laser source, making this proposed method capable of measuring low frequency vibration. In our experiment, perturbations with both sinusoidal and triangle waveform were generated to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The minimum detectable fiber length variation is 14.63 nm, and the sensing frequency can be as low as 0.2 Hz.

Transmittance and phase measurement via self-calibrated balanced heterodyne detection

It is rare for a conventional direct detection method to measure the transmittance uniformity of mirrors with rigorous standards, especially to meet the requirement of transmittance/reflectance and phase detection simultaneously. In this study, a new method of self-calibrated balanced heterodyne detection (SCBHD) is proposed. It can be self-calibrated by a two-channel structure to overcome the environmental effects in large optics scanning detection by employing highly accurate heterodyne interference. A typical transmittance measurement experiment was performed at 1053 nm wavelength via SCBHD. A standard deviation (SD) of 0.038% was achieved in the preliminary experiment. The experimental results prove to reduce the SD by approximately two orders of magnitude compared with the conventional direct detection method in the same condition. The proposed method was verified as being promising not only for its wider dynamic measurement range and its higher accuracy but also for its simultaneous transmittance and phase detection ability.

Deterministic entanglement between a propagating photon and a singlet-triplet qubit in an optically active quantum dot molecule

Two-electron charged self-assembled quantum dot molecules exhibit a decoherence-avoiding singlet-triplet qubit subspace and an efficient spin-photon interface. We demonstrate quantum entanglement between emitted photons and the spin-qubit after the emission event. We measure the overlap with a fully entangled state to be $69.5\pm2.7\,\%$, exceeding the threshold of $50\,\%$ required to prove the non-separability of the density matrix of the system. The photonic qubit is encoded in two photon states with an energy difference larger than the timing resolution of existing detectors. We devise a novel heterodyne detection method, enabling projective measurements of such photonic color qubits along any direction on the Bloch sphere.

Displacement measurement using an optoelectronic oscillator with an intra-loop Michelson interferometer.

We report on measurement of small displacements with sub-nanometer precision using an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) with an intra-loop Michelson interferometer. In comparison with conventional homodyne and heterodyne detection methods, where displacement appears as a power change or a phase shift, respectively, in the OEO detection, the displacement produces a shift in the oscillation frequency. In comparison with typical OEO sensors, where the frequency shift is proportional to the OEO oscillation frequency in radio-frequency domain, the frequency shift in our method with an intra-loop interferometer is proportional to an optical frequency. We constructed a hybrid apparatus and compared characteristics of the OEO and heterodyne detection methods.

Phase-resolved ferromagnetic resonance using heterodyne detection method.

This paper describes a phase-resolved ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurement using a heterodyne method. Spin precession is driven by microwave fields and detected by 1550 nm laser light that is modulated at a frequency slightly shifted with respected to the FMR driving frequency. The evolving phase difference between the spin precession and the modulated light produces a slowly oscillating Kerr rotation signal with a phase equal to the precession phase plus a phase due to the path length difference between the excitation microwave signal and the optical signal. We estimate the accuracy of the precession phase measurement to be 0.1 rad. This heterodyne FMR detection method eliminates the need for field modulation and allows a stronger detection signal at higher intermediate frequency where the 1/f noise floor is reduced.

High-precision measurement of terahertz frequency using an unstabilized femtosecond laser

Frequency is one of the most important physical quantities of electromagnetic (EM) waves. With the development of terahertz (THz) technology, high-precision measurement of THz frequency is required in THz laser development, wireless communication and ultra fine spectrum measurement. The traditional Fabry-Perot (F-P) interferometry and heterodyne detection method are both difficult to achieve high-precision measurement of THz frequency. Within the range of light wave band, the femtosecond optical frequency comb has long been applied to the light wave frequency measurement due to its extremely high accuracy and stability. By using frequency comb method, measurement with accuracy in the order of 10-11 can also be achieved in THz band. To generate THz frequency combs with stable and controllable frequency, it is required to conduct precise stabilization control on repetition frequency of the femtosecond laser. As a result, some special designs are needed for the femtosecond laser in addition to repetition frequency control devices, including the reference signal source, servo-control module, HV drive module, temperature control module, etc., resulting in a rather complicated system. In this paper, a new method for THz frequency measurement by using an unstabilized femtosecond laser is introduced. The laser is free running and the repetition frequency continuously reduces approximately 8 kHz in 6 h, which is the result of a lengthened laser cavity due to the thermal expansion caused by temperature rise after the laser has been switched on. The repetition frequency and beat signal frequency are simultaneously and continuously measured by two frequency counters. The THz frequency can be calculated from the data with accuracy in the order of 10-10. Although the measurement precision is reduced by one order compared with that obtained by using stabilized femtosecond laser, the system is greatly simplified. The femtosecond laser and complicated repetition frequency control devices no longer need to be specifically designed. This new method will greatly expand the applicable scope of the frequency comb method in measuring THz frequency.

Spatial heterodyne scanning laser confocal holographic microscopy

Scanning laser confocal holographic microscopy using a spatial heterodyne detection method is presented. Spatial heterodyne detection technique employs a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with the reference beam frequency shifted by two acousto-optic modulators (AOM) relative to the object beam frequency. Different from the traditional temporal heterodyne detection technique in which hundreds temporal samples are taken at each scanning point to achieve the complex signal, the spatial heterodyne detection technique generates spatial interference fringes by use of a linear tempo-spatial relation provided by galvanometer scanning in a typical line-scanning confocal microscope or for the slow-scanning on one dimension in a point-scanning confocal microscope, thereby significantly reducing sampling rate and increasing the signal to noise ratio under the same illumination compared to the traditional temporal heterodyne counterpart. The proposed spatial heterodyne detection scheme applies to both line-scanning and point-scanning confocal microscopes. In this paper, we present the mathematical principles of the spatial heterodyne detection method and experimental schemes for both line-scanning and point-scanning confocal microscopes. Computer experiments are provided to demonstrate the validity of this idea. The presented spatial heterodyne scanning laser confocal holographic microscope (SH-SLCHM) can obtain both amplitude and quantitative phase information of the object field without a significant increase in complexity of optical and electronic design on the basis of a traditional scanning laser confocal microscope (SLCM). SH-SLCHM may find applications in optical metrology, in-vivo tissue imaging, and ophthalmic imaging.

Retrieval of complex χ((2)) parts for quantitative analysis of sum-frequency generation intensity spectra.

Vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy has become an established technique for in situ surface analysis. While spectral recording procedures and hardware have been optimized, unique data analysis routines have yet to be established. The SFG intensity is related to probing geometries and properties of the system under investigation such as the absolute square of the second-order susceptibility χ((2)) (2). A conventional SFG intensity measurement does not grant access to the complex parts of χ((2)) unless further assumptions have been made. It is therefore difficult, sometimes impossible, to establish a unique fitting solution for SFG intensity spectra. Recently, interferometric phase-sensitive SFG or heterodyne detection methods have been introduced to measure real and imaginary parts of χ((2)) experimentally. Here, we demonstrate that iterative phase-matching between complex spectra retrieved from maximum entropy method analysis and fitting of intensity SFG spectra (iMEMfit) leads to a unique solution for the complex parts of χ((2)) and enables quantitative analysis of SFG intensity spectra. A comparison between complex parts retrieved by iMEMfit applied to intensity spectra and phase sensitive experimental data shows excellent agreement between the two methods.