Optical pulse position modulation based on the temporal Talbot effect for the Nyquist folding receiver

A novel method, to our knowledge, for achieving optical pulse position modulation (PPM) is proposed, with its application demonstrated in a photonic Nyquist folding receiver (NYFR). Leveraging the real-time Fourier transform property in the temporal Talbot effect, a high-speed uniform input pulse train is converted into a predefined non-uniform pulse train by modulating it with a frequency-modulated RF signal using carrier-suppressed single-sideband modulation. The position of each pulse is determined by the instantaneous frequency of the modulating signal. In the experiment, pulse trains with sinusoidal PPM are successfully generated and applied to a photonic NYFR, enabling efficient wideband signal acquisition.