Abstract

High-speed sampling of electrical signals using integrated-optic devices has become a subject of great interest.^1,2 Their small size, the ease of interfacing them with fast laser sources, and the high potential bandwidth of the electrooptic effect make integrated-optic devices ideal for high-speed and possibly low-cost sampling devices. The work reported here is devoted to development of the novel high-speed integrated-optic sampler shown in Fig. 1. The device consists of a series of electrooptic couplers fabricated along a coplanar rf stripline so that the electric field across each coupler is determined by the local voltage along the stripline and associated ground strip. A short optical pulse, which propagates in a direction opposite to the traveling wave electrical signal, passes sequentially through the electrooptic couplers causing a small amount of light to couple into the output waveguides and propagate to the optical detectors. The amount of coupled light is dependent on the local electric field. Each detector integrates the energy of the coupled optical pulses in the respective output waveguides to determine the associated instantaneous values of the electrical signal.

© 1986 Optical Society of America