Abstract
A novel electrically switchable optical ultrawideband (UWB) pulse generator that is capable of generating both
Gaussian monocycle and Gaussian doublet pulses by using a polarization modulator (PolM) and a fiber Bragg grating is
proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The polarity and the shape of the generated UWB pulses can be electrically
switched by adjusting the voltages applied to two arbitrary wave plates (AWPs), which are incorporated at the input
and the output of the PolM to adjust the polarization state of the lightwaves. The key component in the UWB pulse
generator is the PolM, which is a special phase modulator that can support both transverse electric and transverse
magnetic modes but with opposite phase modulation indexes. Depending on the polarization state of the incident
lightwave to the PolM that is linearly polarized and aligned to one principle axis of the PolM or circularly
polarized, UWB monocycle or doublet pulses are generated. The polarity of the UWB pulses can be electrically
switched by adjusting the voltages applied to the AWPs. The proposed system is implemented, and the generation of
UWB monocycle and doublet pulses is experimentally demonstrated. Gaussian monocycle and doublet pulses with a
fractional bandwidth of about 150% and 160% are experimentally generated. The proposed electrically switchable
optical UWB pulse generator has the potential for applications in UWB communications and radar systems that employ
pulse polarity modulation and pulse shape modulation schemes.
© 2007 IEEE
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