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Ultrafast analog computer circuits that use the Pockels effect
Optics Letters
|October 14, 2009
Summary
New optoelectronic circuits perform complex analog computations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and temporal integration, for signals up to 100 GHz. This advancement extends Mach-Zehnder modulator technology for ultrafast signal processing.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Electrical Engineering
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Integrated-optic Mach-Zehnder intensity modulators offer nearly flat frequency responses.
- Traveling-wave phase modulators utilize the linear electro-optic Pockels effect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present novel optoelectronic circuits capable of performing analog mathematical operations.
- To enable signal processing for electrical signals across a broad frequency range (0-100 GHz).
Main Methods:
- Utilizing integrated-optic Mach-Zehnder intensity modulators.
- Extending traveling-wave phase modulator technology based on the electro-optic Pockels effect.
- Designing ultrafast (~3-ps rise time) and cascadable circuits.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated analog addition, subtraction, multiplication, temporal differentiation, and temporal integration.
- Circuits operate on electrical signals with arbitrary frequency components from 0 to 100 GHz.
- The proposed circuits are straightforward extensions of existing modulator technology.
Conclusions:
- Novel optoelectronic circuits offer versatile analog computation capabilities.
- The technology enables high-speed signal processing up to 100 GHz.
- These circuits represent a practical advancement in optoelectronic computation.
