Polarization-controlled operating point adjustment for optical electric field sensors in optical frequency comb...

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Electromagnetic Metrology
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Optical frequency comb (OFC) undersampling systems offer advanced monitoring of wideband electromagnetic environments.
• Current optical electric field sensor (OEFS) designs lack controllable operating points, limiting sensitivity and dynamic range.
• Conventional adjustment methods like bias circuits or wavelength tuning are ineffective for OEFS in OFC systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel polarization-control method for adjusting the OEFS operating point.
• To overcome limitations in sensitivity and dynamic range associated with existing OEFS.

Main Methods:

• A polarization-control technique was developed to adjust the OEFS operating point by modifying the TM/TE mode power ratio.
• Theoretical analysis of the polarization-control mechanism was performed.
• Experimental validation of the proposed method was conducted.

Main Results:

• The polarization-control method significantly improved OEFS performance.
• Sensitivity was enhanced by 12.73 ± 1.05 dB compared to systems without polarization control.
• Linear dynamic range (LDR) increased by 13.66 dB, and spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) improved by 18.78 dB.

Conclusions:

• Polarization control offers an effective solution for optimizing OEFS operating points in OFC systems.
• The proposed method substantially enhances key sensor performance metrics.
• This advancement enables more precise and robust ultra-wideband electromagnetic environment monitoring.