Ultra Wideband Signals and Systems in Communication Engineering

Resonance conditions for a substrate-superstrate printed antenna geometry which allow for large antenna gain are presented. Asymptotic formulas for gain, beamwidth, and bandwidth are given, and the bandwidth limitation of the method is discussed. The method is extended to produce narrow patterns about the horizon, and directive patterns at two different angles.

Gain enhancement methods for printed circuit antennas

Recent advances in photonic integration have propelled microwave photonic technologies to new heights. The ability to interface hybrid material platforms to enhance light–matter interactions has led to the development of ultra-small and high-bandwidth electro-optic modulators, low-noise frequency synthesizers and chip signal processors with orders-of-magnitude enhanced spectral resolution. On the other hand, the maturity of high-volume semiconductor processing has finally enabled the complete integration of light sources, modulators and detectors in a single microwave photonic processor chip and has ushered the creation of a complex signal processor with multifunctionality and reconfigurability similar to electronic devices. Here, we review these recent advances and discuss the impact of these new frontiers for short- and long-term applications in communications and information processing. We also take a look at the future perspectives at the intersection of integrated microwave photonics and other fields including quantum and neuromorphic photonics. This Review discusses recent advances of microwave photonic technologies and their applications in communications and information processing, as well as their potential implementations in quantum and neuromorphic photonics.

Integrated microwave photonics

A new class of planar optics has emerged using subwavelength gratings with a large refractive index contrast, herein referred to as high-contrast gratings (HCGs). This seemingly simple structure lends itself to extraordinary properties, which can be designed top-down based on intuitive guidelines. The HCG is a single layer of high-index material that can be as thin as 15% of one wavelength. It can be designed to reflect or transmit nearly completely and with specific optical phase over a broad spectral range and/or various incident beam angles. We present a simple theory providing an intuitive phase selection rule to explain the extraordinary features. Our analytical results agree well not only with numerical simulations but also experimental data. The HCG has made easy fabrication of surface-normal optical devices possible, including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), tunable VCSELs, and tunable filters. HCGs can be designed to result in high-quality-factor (Q) resonators with surface-normal output, which is promising for wafer-scale lasers and optical sensors. Spatially chirped HCGs are shown to be excellent focusing reflectors and lenses with very high numerical apertures. This field has seen rapid advances in experimental demonstrations and theoretical results. We provide an overview of the underlying new physics and the latest results of devices.

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High-contrast gratings for integrated optoelectronics

A vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) was invented 30 years ago. A lot of unique features can be expected, such as low-power consumption, wafer-level testing, small packaging capability, and so on. The market of VCSELs has been growing up rapidly in recent years, and they are now key devices in local area networks using multimode optical fibers. Also, long wavelength VCSELs are currently attracting much interest for use in single-mode fiber metropolitan area and wide area network applications. In addition, a VCSEL-based disruptive technology enables various consumer applications such as a laser mouse and laser printers. In this paper, the recent advance of VCSEL photonics will be reviewed, which include the wavelength extension of single-mode VCSELs and their wavelength integration/control. Also, this paper explores the potential and challenges for new functions of VCSELs toward optical signal processing

https://cnst.nctu.edu.tw/mbe08/abstract/6-13.30-14.00-koyama.pdf

Recent Advances of VCSEL Photonics

Random scattering of light in transmission media has attracted a great deal of attention in the field of photonics over the past few decades. An optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is a microwave photonic system offering unbeatable features for the generation of microwave oscillations with ultra-low phase noise. Here, we combine the unique features of random scattering and OEO technologies by proposing an OEO structure based on random distributed feedback. Thanks to the random distribution of Rayleigh scattering caused by inhomogeneities within the glass structure of the fiber, we demonstrate the generation of ultra-wideband (up to 40 GHz from DC) random microwave signals in an open cavity OEO. The generated signals enjoy random characteristics, and their frequencies are not limited by a fixed cavity length figure. The proposed device has potential in many fields such as random bit generation, radar systems, electronic interference and countermeasures, and telecommunications. Optoelectronic oscillators (OEOs) are used to generate low-noise microwave oscillations for many technologies but typically operate in a limited frequency range. Here the authors present an OEO that takes advantage of random distributed feedback and an open cavity structure to produce ultra-wideband random microwave signals.

/pdf/broadband-random-optoelectronic-oscillator-29fsta7vsm.pdf

Broadband random optoelectronic oscillator.

A widely tunable single-passband microwave photonic filter (MPF) based on a distributed-feedback semiconductor optical amplifier (DFB-SOA) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in this paper. The fundamental principle is to recover the suppressed optical carrier from a passband optical filter by the wavelength-selective amplification via a DFB-SOA. A microwave signal is then generated by beating the recovered optical carrier with the phase-modulated lower sideband, and thus, an MPF is achieved with the shape of the passband optical filter that is mapped from the optical domain to the electrical domain. By tuning the central wavelength of the passband optical filter, a single-passband MPF with a frequency tuning range from 5 to 35 GHz is obtained. The 3-dB bandwidth and the out-of-band suppression ratio are measured to be 4 GHz and 20 dB, respectively. In addition, the tunability of the MPF that is dependent on the driven current of the DFB-SOA is also experimentally investigated.

Widely Tunable Single-Passband Microwave Photonic Filter Based on DFB-SOA-Assisted Optical Carrier Recovery

A novel microwave photonics technique that enables the modulation of orthogonal optical single-sideband (OSSB) by using an improved Sagnac-loop-based modulator is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The dual-driving Mach-Zehnder modulator and polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating are integrated inside and outside the Sagnac loop, respectively, in order to realize the OSSB modulation and polarization-selective filtering. Therefore, the precisely defined orthogonal OSSB signal can be generated steadily at 20-GHz carrier frequency in the experiment.

Orthogonal Single-Sideband Signal Generation Using Improved Sagnac-Loop-Based Modulator

The open-short-load (OSL) method is very simple and widely used for one-port test fixture calibration. In this paper, this method is extended, for the first time, to the two-port calibration of test fixtures with different test ports. The problem of phase uncertainty arising in this application has been solved. The comparison between our results and those obtained with the SOLT method shows that the method established is accurate for practical applications. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Two-port calibration of test fixtures with different test ports

A novel and simple method for measuring the chirp parameter, frequency, and intensity modulation indexes of directly modulated lasers is proposed in a small-signal modulation scheme. A graphical approach is presented. An analytical solution to the measurement of low chirp parameters is also given. The measured results agree well with those obtained using the conventional methods

Ninghua Zhu

Papers

Broadband random optoelectronic oscillator.

Widely Tunable Single-Passband Microwave Photonic Filter Based on DFB-SOA-Assisted Optical Carrier Recovery

Orthogonal Single-Sideband Signal Generation Using Improved Sagnac-Loop-Based Modulator

Two-port calibration of test fixtures with different test ports

Measurement of Chirp Parameter and Modulation Index of a Semiconductor Laser Based on Optical Spectrum Analysis