Ultra-wideband continuous sawtooth generation using RF-photonic technique

Abstract

We report the first continuous-time implementation of the RF-photonic arbitrary waveform generator. The technique utilizes wavelength-to-time mapping of a broadband optical source to convert spectral modulation into a high fidelity time domain signal. The repetition rate of the system is modified to seamlessly interleave adjacent waveforms. As a proof of concept, an ultra-wideband continuous sawtooth is generated with 260 ps duration and fast 30 ps rise time.