Generation of an optical triangular-shaped pulse train with variable symmetry by using an I/Q modulator

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Signal Processing
• Waveform Generation

Background:

• Generating precisely shaped optical pulses is crucial for advanced optical communication and signal processing systems.
• Existing methods for creating asymmetric optical waveforms often involve complex setups or limited tunability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel optical setup for generating triangular-shaped pulse trains with variable symmetry.
• To investigate the use of an In-phase/Quadrature (I/Q) modulator for flexible optical waveform engineering.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing an I/Q modulator as the core component for optical signal manipulation.
• Implementing a control scheme with three key variables to shape the optical intensity.
• Expressing the optical intensity as a sum of infinite sinusoidal harmonics to approximate the desired waveform.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated an optical triangular-shaped pulse train with tunable symmetry coefficients ranging from 20% to 80%.
• Achieved a low fitting error, with values less than or equal to 6%, demonstrating high waveform fidelity.
• The proposed scheme effectively approximates asymmetrical waveforms through controlled harmonic generation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed I/Q modulator-based setup offers a flexible and effective method for generating tunable, asymmetric optical triangular pulse trains.
• This technique holds potential for applications requiring precisely controlled optical signal shapes, such as in high-speed optical communications and sensing.