Optical Carrier Research Articles

Phase Stabilization of a Terahertz Wave Using Mach–Zehnder Interference Detection

As a high-frequency carrier, the terahertz (THz) wave is essential for achieving high-data-rate wireless transmission due to its ultra-wide bandwidth. Phase stabilization becomes crucial to enable phase-shift-based multilevel modulation for high-speed data transmission. We developed a Mach–Zehnder interferometric phase stabilization technique for photomixing, which has proved a promising method for phase-stable continuous THz-wave generation. However, this method faced inefficiencies in generating phase-modulated THz waves due to the impact of the phase modulator on the phase stabilization system. By photomixing, which is one of the promising methods for generating THz waves, the phase of the generated THz waves can be controlled in the optical domain so that the stability of the generated THz wave can be controlled by photonics technologies. Thus, we devised a new phase stabilization approach using backward-directional lightwave, which is overlapped with the THz wave generation system. This study presented a conceptual and experimental framework for stabilizing the phase differences of optical carrier signals. We compared the optical domain and transmission performances between forward-directional and backward-directional phase stabilization methods. Remarkably, our results demonstrated error-free transmission at a modulation frequency of 3 Gbit/s and higher.

Free-space transmission of picosecond-level, high-speed optical pulse streams in the 3 µm band.

The utilization of mid-infrared (mid-IR) light spanning the 3-5 µm range presents notable merits over the 1.5 µm band when operating in adverse atmospheric conditions. Consequently, it emerges as a promising prospect for serving as optical carriers in free-space communication (FSO) through atmospheric channels. However, due to the insufficient performance level of devices in the mid-IR band, the capability of mid-IR communication is hindered in terms of transmission capacity and signal format. In this study, we conduct experimental investigations on the transmission of time-domain multiplexed ultra-short optical pulse streams, with a pulse width of 1.8 ps and a data rate of up to 40 Gbps at 3.6 µm, based on the difference frequency generation (DFG) effect. The mid-IR transmitter realizes an effective wavelength conversion of optical time division multiplexing (OTDM) signals from 1.5 µm to 3.6 µm, and the obtained power of the 40 Gbps mid-IR OTDM signal at the optimum temperature of 54.8 °C is 7.4 dBm. The mid-IR receiver successfully achieves the regeneration of the 40 Gbps 1.5 µm OTDM signal, and the corresponding regenerated power at the optimum temperature of 51.5 °C is -30.56 dBm. Detailed results pertaining to the demodulation of regeneration 1.5 µm OTDM signal have been acquired, encompassing parameters such as pulse waveform diagram, bit error rate (BER), and Q factor. The estimated power penalty of the 40 Gbps mid-IR OTDM transmission is 2.4 dB at a BER of 1E-6, compared with the back-to-back (BTB) transmission. Moreover, it is feasible by using chirped PPLN crystals with wider bandwidth to increase the data rate to the order of one hundred gigabits.

Spectrally Efficient PDM-Twin-SSB Direct-Detection THz System Without Active Polarization Control

This Letter proposed a spectrally efficient polarization division multiplexed (PDM) twin single-sideband (twin-SSB) transmission scheme for direct-detection THz communication systems. The optical carrier of the twin-SSB is added at the optical THz converter, rather than being generated at the optical transmitter as in traditional SSB scheme. Hence the direct detection of each polarization branch of the PDM-twin-SSB signals at the THz receiver can be achieved, without active polarization control. Moreover, the SSB field recovery enabled by Kramers–Kronig algorithm can effectively eliminate the signal-to-signal beating interferences and contributes to better polarization de-multiplexing. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is verified with 5.75-GBd 16-quadrature amplitude modulation PDM-twin-SSB signals transmission over the 300-GHz direct-detection THz communication system by simulation. This scheme can not only significantly improve the spectral efficiency of direct-detection THz communication systems, but also effectively enhance the system’s operability and robustness.

Notch Microwave Photonic Filter With Narrow Bandwidth and Ultra-High All-Optical Tuning Efficiency Based on a Silicon Nanobeam Cavity

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a narrowband notch microwave photonic filter (MPF) with an ultra-high all-optical tuning efficiency based on an optimized high-quality (Q) nanobeam photonic crystal (PhC) cavity. By optimizing the structural parameters, the hole shapes and the waveguide width of the cavity, a silicon nanobeam cavity with a theoretical high-Q factor of 4×10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">8</sup> , a small mode volume (V) of 0.32(λ/ <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">n</i> ) <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> and a compact size of 6 μm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> could be obtained. Due to the extremely high Q/V ratio beyond 1×10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">9</sup> , the nonlinear effects in the cavity could be efficiently excited, which is beneficial for on-chip low-power signal processing. In the experiment, by adjusting the wavelength of the optical carrier, the central frequency of the notch MPF could be widely tuned from 1 GHz to 40 GHz with maintaining the 3dB-bandwidth around 198 MHz and rejection ratios beyond 50 dB. On the other side, the central frequency of the MPF could be all-optically tuned based on the nonlinear effects in the cavity. Owing to the cavity extremely high Q/V ratio, the MPF frequency can be adjusted with an ultra-high tuning efficiency of 308.8 GHz/mW. To the best of our knowledge, whether the notch MPF narrow 3dB-bandwidth of 198 MHz or the all-optical tuning efficiency of 308.8 GHz/mW is a record value among the reported silicon-cavity-based notch MPFs with such a compact device size. With the dominant advantages of sub-gigahertz narrowband, wide tuning range, ultra-high all-optical tuning efficiency and extremely compact cavity size, the proposed MPFs illustrate competitive performance for on-chip microwave signal processing.

Offset double-sideband signal field recovery at low CSPR using filter-assisted direct detection

The offset double-sideband (DSB) scheme has attracted attention because it can achieve field recovery at low carrier-to-signal power ratio (CSPR) and improve the spectral efficiency (SE) of self-coherent detection. In this paper, an offset DSB filter-assisted direct detection (FADD) scheme is proposed and studied for the first time, which uses an optical bandpass filter (OBPF) to filter out the optical carrier as the local oscillator for the receiver. As such, signal-signal beat interference (SSBI) can be eliminated. Since the offset DSB signal has a large frequency gap, the requirement for the bandwidth of the OBPF is not high. The performance of the proposed offset DSB FADD scheme is evaluated for 16-QAM signals. It is comprehensively compared with offset DSB carrier-assisted differential detection (CADD) scheme in terms of OSNR sensitivity, optimal CSPR, and receiver power sensitivity. In addition, the effect of frequency gap compression is significant as SSBI is completely eliminated from the system, thereby utilizing as many low-frequency resources as possible and improving SE. Finally, the proposed offset DSB FADD scheme is resilient to the wavelength offset up to several GHz between the transmitter laser and the center wavelength of the OBPF.

Tunable bandpass microwave photonic filter with largely reconfigurable bandwidth and steep shape factor based on cascaded silicon nitride micro-ring resonators.

Bandpass microwave photonic filter (MPF) can be achieved based on the well-known phase to intensity conversion method by using phase modulation and single micro-ring resonator (MRR) notch filter. Since MRR could introduce residual phase in handling one optical sideband, the out-of-band radio frequency (RF) rejection ratio and the shape factor of the bandpass MPF are very limited. Here, by introducing another MRR to handle the other optical sideband, the residual phase can be greatly suppressed, thus the filter's performance can be greatly improved. The proposed bandpass MPF was both verified theoretically and experimentally. Compared with the single MRR, the out-of-band RF rejection ratio and the shape factor were improved by 20 dB and 1.67, respectively. Furthermore, the bandpass MPF's bandwidth is reconfigurable by adjusting the optical carrier's frequency or the two MRRs' amplitude coupling coefficients. The bandpass MPF's center frequency is also tunable by changing the resonant wavelengths of two MRRs in the opposite direction simultaneously. Experimentally, bandwidth reconfiguration from 0.38 GHz to 15.74 GHz, the shape factor optimization from 2 to 1.23, and frequency tuning from 4 GHz to 21.5 GHz were achieved. We believe that the proposed bandpass MPF has great potential for microwave photonic signal processing.

Comparison of performance for third order immune photonic transmission link incorporating phase shifters and biased optimized dual parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator

Abstract This paper presents a comprehension on the linearization arrangements achieved through dual drive dual parallel Mach–Zehnder (DD-DPMZM) by changing bias voltages of sub-modulators and adjusting phases of RF signals. These arrangements comprise of a DD-DPMZM and electric phase shifters. For single sideband (SSB) modulation in sub-modulators of DD-DPMZM, power at intermodulation is found to be 43 dB and 61 dB for the linearized and convention single modulator link respectively. Thus, 28 dB of improvement in suppression of third order intermodulation distortion is reported for the first arrangement of linearization. For quadrature modulation in upper MZM and optical carrier suppression (OCS) modulation in lower modulator, almost complete suppression of IMD3 terms are demonstrated and found to be better performance arrangement for bias optimized dual parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator based linearization link.

Ultrafast Carrier Drift Transport Dynamics in CsPbI3 Perovskite Nanocrystalline Thin Films.

We study the early time carrier drift dynamics in CsPbI3 nanocrystal thin films with a sub 25 ps time resolution. Prior to trapping, carriers exhibit band-like transport characteristics, which is similar to those of traditional semiconductor solar absorbers including Si and GaAs due to optical phonon and carrier scattering at high temperatures. In contrast to the popular polaron scattering mechanism, the CsPbI3 nanocrystal thin film demonstrates the strongest optical phonon scattering mechanism among other inorganic-organic hybrid perovskites, Si, and GaAs. This ultrafast dynamics study establishes a foundation for understanding the fundamental carrier drift properties that drive perovskite nanocrystal optoelectronics.

Low-loss microwave photonic switching for satellite communication.

For traditional switching architecture, packet switching performs fine granularity data packet forwarding, but its digital signal processing (DSP) has high power consumption (PC). All-optical switching provides rapid exchange of wavelength resources, which has coarse granularity. In scenarios where the PC is limited, such as broadband satcom, a switching architecture with lower PC and finer granularity than optical switching would be useful. In this paper, we propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, low-loss microwave photonic switching architecture that can exchange subband signals across beams and frequency bands. The switching process is realized by exchanging optical carriers instead of payload signals, which does not degrade the signal power, guaranteeing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We conducted a proof-of-concept experiment of 2 × 2 switching with two 1.2-GBaud quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) signals; an error vector magnitude (EVM) of or less than 13.87% is realized after forwarding. The proposed system has the advantages of low PC, high SNR, and fine granularity, and is very promising for flexible forwarding in future satcom systems.

Performance analysis of vortex symmetric Airy beam as optical communication link through turbulence channel

The orbital angular momentum of the vortex beam can be used for information coding will help to improve the communication rate. The autofocusing phenomenon of the symmetric Airy beam (SAB) can help improve the light intensity in the receiving aperture. The vortex symmetric Airy beam (VSAB) which couples the autofocusing SAB and topological charge can provide new possibilities for the optical carrier of free space optical communication (FSOC). In this paper, the performance analysis of VSAB as the optical carrier propagation in the turbulence is studied. The evaluation parameters mean signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and mean bit error rate (BER) for the VSAB propagating in turbulent atmosphere are calculated, using numerical calculations. The influences law of the parameters of the VSAB on evaluation parameters have been obtained.

High-precision temperature-compensated fiber Bragg grating axial strain sensing system based on a dual-loop optoelectronic oscillator with the enhanced Vernier effect.

A temperature-compensated fiber Bragg grating (FBG) axial strain sensor based on a two-dual-loop optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) with the enhanced Vernier effect is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensing head consists of two cascaded FBGs, one of which acts as a sensing FBG to measure both the axial strain and temperature and the other as a reference FBG to detect temperature. Acting as the optical carrier, the reflected optical signal of the sensing head is divided into two paths with opposite dispersion coefficients and slightly different lengths to achieve an enhanced Vernier effect. After being divided by a wavelength division multiplexer, the optical signal launches into two electrical paths with different electrical bandpass filters (EBPFs) for frequency division multiplexing. The EBPF I selects the microwave signal generated by the sensing FBG, while the EBPF II selects the microwave signal generated by the reference FBG. Therefore, the axial strain and temperature can be recovered by recording the microwave frequency within EBPF I, and the temperature can be interrogated by tracking the microwave frequency within EBPF II. The axial strain applied on the sensing FBG can be distinguished by solving the cross-sensitivity matrix. The results show that the sensitivity of the dual-loop OEO is much greater than that of the single-loop OEO. The maximum measurement error for the axial strain is 0.112µε, and the maximum temperature compensation error is as low as 0.024°C in the dual-loop OEO, which is far less than that in the single-loop OEO. The enhanced Vernier effect not only improves the sensitivity, but also reduces the temperature compensation error.

Terahertz Optical Properties and Carrier Behaviors of Graphene Oxide Quantum Dot and Reduced Graphene Oxide Quantum Dot via Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with a band gap have been widely applied in many fields owing to their unique optical properties. To better utilize the optical advantages of GQDs, it is important to understand their optical characteristics. Our study demonstrates the optical properties and carrier behaviors of synthesized graphene oxide quantum dot (GOQD) and reduced graphene oxide quantum dot (rGOQD) pellets via Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The complex permittivity and optical conductivity are obtained in the terahertz region, indicating that the optical conductivity of the GOQD is higher than that of the rGOQD. Although rGOQD has a higher carrier density, approximately 1.5-times than that of GOQD, the lower charge carrier mobility of the rGOQD, which is obtained using Drude–Lorentz oscillator model fitting contributes to a decrease in optical conductivity. This lower mobility can be attributed to the more significant number of defect states within the rGOQD compared to GOQD. To the best of our knowledge, our study initially demonstrates the optical property and carrier behaviors of GOQD and rGOQD in the THz region. Moreover, this study provides important information on factors influencing carrier behavior to various fields in which carrier behavior plays an important role.

Sub-Hz Closed-Loop Electro-Optomechanical Oscillator with Gallium Phosphide Photonic Crystal Integrated on SoI Circuitry.

We report on a new approach of a low phase noise electro-optomechanical oscillator directly working in the GHz frequency range. The developed nanoscale oscillator is a one-dimensional photonic crystal made of gallium phosphide (GaP), heterogeneously integrated on silicon-on-insulator circuitry. Based on the strong interaction between the optical mode at the telecommunication wavelength and the mechanical mode in GHz, ultra-pure mechanical oscillations are enabled and directly imprinted on an optical carrier. Further stabilization is achieved with a delayed optoelectronic feedback loop using integrated electro-mechanical self-injection. We achieve a short-term stability of 0.7 Hz linewidth and a long-term stability with an Allan deviation below 10-7 Hz/Hz at 10 s averaging time, which represents an important step toward fully integrated optomechanical oscillators. Integrability and the low phase noise of this oscillator address some of the most important needs of optoelectronic oscillators and pave the way toward on-chip integrated microwave oscillators for microwave applications such as RADARs.

A green synthetic approach for C/Ag@ urchin-like TiO2 nanocomposites showing a highly molar ratio CH4/CO for CO2 photoreduction

In the paper, the urchin-like TiO2 with rutile crystal structure was prepared under acidic conditions. When C powder was added in the reaction process, rutile TiO2 became rutile and anatase diphase structure. The yields of CH4 and CO of C/Ag@TiO2 were 5.46 μmol·g−1·h−1 and 1.51 μmol·g−1·h−1, respectively, and the molar ratio of CH4 was the highest for 78.3%. Through characterization of optical and electrical properties, the addition of C and Ag improved the optical performance, carrier concentration, and electron mobility. Finally, the photocatalytic reaction mechanism was proposed.

All-optical digital-to-analog conversion based on time-domain pulse spectrum encoding

An all-optical digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) scheme based on time-domain pulse spectrum encoding is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In this approach, the ultrafast optical pulses are first time-broadened and frequency-chirped based on wavelength-to-time mapping and then segmented and power weighted in both time and spectrum domains to produce the multi-band optical carrier. The optical carrier is intensity-modulated by the serial digital inputs to realize the time-domain pulse spectrum encoding. Each spectrum-encoded pulse is then time-compressed to achieve the incoherent weighted intensity summation of digital bits within each word. This approach generates the multi-band optical carrier and achieves the corresponding incoherent intensity summation using all-fiber structure; the system configuration is greatly simplified. Moreover, the time-domain pulse spectrum encoding could efficiently exploit the superwide spectrum resource offered by ultrafast optical pulses and potentially improve the system conversion resolution. A proof-of-concept experiment of a 4-bit DAC system based on time-domain pulse spectrum encoding is carried out, and the obtained results validate the feasibility of the proposed approach. In addition, the system performance in terms of the effective number of bits is investigated.

High-speed RF spectral analysis using a Rayleigh backscattering speckle spectrometer.

Persistent wideband radio frequency (RF) surveillance and spectral analysis is increasingly important, driven by the proliferation of wireless communication and RADAR technology. However, conventional electronic approaches are limited by the ∼1 GHz bandwidth of real-time analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). While faster ADCs exist, high data rates prohibit continuous operation, limiting these approaches to acquiring short snapshots of the RF spectrum. In this work, we introduce an optical RF spectrum analyzer designed for continuous, wideband operation. Our approach encodes the RF spectrum as sidebands on an optical carrier and relies on a speckle spectrometer to measure these sidebands. To achieve the resolution and update rate required for RF analysis, we use Rayleigh backscattering in single-mode fiber to rapidly generate wavelength-dependent speckle patterns with MHz-level spectral correlation. We also introduce a dual-resolution scheme to mitigate the trade-off between resolution, bandwidth, and measurement rate. This optimized spectrometer design enables continuous, wideband (15 GHz) RF spectral analysis with MHz-level resolution and a fast update rate of 385 kHz. The entire system is constructed using fiber-coupled off-the-shelf-components, providing a powerful new approach for wideband RF detection and monitoring.

Silica micro-rod resonator-based Kerr frequency comb for high-speed short-reach optical interconnects.

Conventional data center interconnects rely on power-hungry arrays of discrete wavelength laser sources. However, growing bandwidth demand severely challenges ensuring the power and spectral efficiency toward which data center interconnects tend to strive. Kerr frequency combs based on silica microresonators can replace multiple laser arrays, easing the pressure on data center interconnect infrastructure. Therefore, we experimentally demonstrate a bit rate of up to 100 Gbps/λ employing 4-level pulse amplitude modulated signal transmission over a 2 km long short-reach optical interconnect that can be considered a record using any Kerr frequency comb light source, specifically based on a silica micro-rod. In addition, data transmission using the non-return to zero on-off keying modulation format is demonstrated to achieve 60 Gbps/λ. The silica micro-rod resonator-based Kerr frequency comb light source generates an optical frequency comb in the optical C-band with 90 GHz spacing between optical carriers. Data transmission is supported by frequency domain pre-equalization techniques to compensate amplitude-frequency distortions and limited bandwidths of electrical system components. Additionally, achievable results are enhanced with offline digital signal processing, implementing post-equalization using feed-forward and feedback taps.

Multi-Tone Optical Source Generation for Applications in Next-Generation Passive Optical Networks using Photonic Structures

This study presents the design and simulation of an integrated multi-carrier optical source with a 227 GHz bandwidth for passive optical network (PON) applications. The optical comb generation attained using a photonic structure known as a micro-ring resonator fabricated in silicon nitride (Si3N4) facilitates cost reduction when produced on a large scale. Additionally, the generated optical comb accomplishes non-uniform tones in terms of the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), which allows for the dynamic assignment of carriers to retainable customers as a function of the data rate and transmission distance requirements. The design and simulation demonstrate the generation of frequency combs with optical carriers in a range of 5-40 tones, an OSNR range of 20-80 dB, and a free spectral range (FSR) of 50-3 610 GHz. To achieve these features, a geometric design of the device is proposed, and its response to variations of input laser parameters is described. In summary, the device uses two optical micro-resonators with radii of 100 and 450 µm and controls the power and the tuning of laser parameters. The proposed method allows generating a deterministic and reliable path to the frequency combs. Finally, the characteristics of the obtained combs are tested to determine their potential use in PON transmissions.

Research on Optical Spectrum Processing for Photonic-Assisted Broadband RF Cross- Eye Jamming System

Cross-eye jamming technology has been used in electronic warfare, which attempts to protect a military platform from monopulse tracking radars. The cross-eye jamming technology has the ability of inducing angular errors to the monopulse tracking radars by transmitting two jamming signals with equal amplitudes and opposite phases. At present, high operation frequency and broadband cross-eye jamming system has been rarely demonstrated. Therefore, the present cross-eye jamming systems are hard to jam frequency-agile radar or multi-band radar, whose carrier frequency covers a large spectral range. In this paper, a photonic-assisted broadband radio frequency (RF) cross-eye jamming system is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. To achieve effective jamming effect, the intercepted radar signal is modulated to optical carriers and the phase shift is realized by optical spectrum processing. The relationship between system parameter tolerances and jamming effects are also simulated. Furthermore, the RF transfer function of X-band, Ku-band and K-band has been obtained in the experiments. The experimental results show that the amplitude and phase mismatch are below 2.15 degrees and 0.4 dB, respectively. Calculated cross-eye gain is 39dB.

Surpassing the classical limit of the microwave photonic frequency fading effect by quantum microwave photonics

With energy–time entangled biphoton sources as the optical carrier and time-correlated single-photon detection for high-speed radio frequency (RF) signal recovery, the method of quantum microwave photonics (QMWP) has presented the unprecedented potential of nonlocal RF signal encoding and efficient RF signal distilling from the dispersion interference associated with ultrashort pulse carriers. In this paper, its capability in microwave signal processing and prospective superiority are further demonstrated. Both QMWP RF phase shifting and transversal filtering functionality, which are the fundamental building blocks of microwave signal processing, are realized. Besides good immunity to the dispersion-induced frequency fading effect associated with the broadband carrier in classical MWP, a native two-dimensional parallel microwave signal processor is provided. These results well demonstrate the superiority of QMWP over classical MWP and open the door to new application fields of MWP involving encrypted processing.