Simple Phase Detector Research Articles

Coherent phase and frequency detection by using sum-frequency mixing in nonlinear waveguides

We demonstrate a novel optical phase detector that uses sum-frequency mixing in a nonlinear waveguide. By monitoring the near-field pattern of the sum-frequency light radiated from the waveguide surface, the relative phase of two input light beams can be measured. By using an Al(x)Ga(1-x)As waveguide optimized for sum-frequency generation with lambda = 1.06 microm input light, we demonstrate a simple phase detector capable of resolving phase shifts of less than 0.2 rad. This phase detector is also used in an interferometer configuration as a gigahertz-resolution frequency monitor.

An ultrasonic ranging system for structural vibration measurements

An ultrasonic ranging system (URS) that can be used to measure vibratory displacements in structures is described. A pair of ultrasonic transducers is used in a transmit-receive mode to acquire the motion of a point on a flexible structure. The structure's oscillating motion modulates the phase angle between the transmitted and received acoustic signals. A simple phase detector and low-pass filter combination demodulate the phase signal, thus extracting information about the motion of the point on the structure. The results reported concentrate on some design issues of the URS and its use as a potential displacement measuring device for flexible structures. The URS accurately distinguished four vibration frequencies of a simple cantilevered aluminum beam, with the highest frequency near 50 Hz.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>