Reconfigurable photonic generation of broadband chirped waveforms using a single CW laser and low-frequency electronics

Broadband radio-frequency chirped waveforms (RFCWs) with dynamically tunable parameters are of fundamental interest to many practical applications. Recently, photonic-assisted solutions have been demonstrated to overcome the bandwidth and flexibility constraints of electronic RFCW generation techniq...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2018-06, Vol.9 (1), p.2438-12, Article 2438
Main Authors: Guillet de Chatellus, Hugues, Romero Cortés, Luis, Schnébelin, Côme, Burla, Maurizio, Azaña, José
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/624/1075/1081
639/624/1111
Bandwidths
Broadband
Chirp
Complexity
Electronics
Engineering Sciences
Humanities and Social Sciences
Lasers
multidisciplinary
Optics
Parameters
Photonic
Photonics
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Waveforms
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Summary:Broadband radio-frequency chirped waveforms (RFCWs) with dynamically tunable parameters are of fundamental interest to many practical applications. Recently, photonic-assisted solutions have been demonstrated to overcome the bandwidth and flexibility constraints of electronic RFCW generation techniques. However, state-of-the-art photonic techniques involve broadband mode-locked lasers, complex dual laser systems, or fast electronics, increasing significantly the complexity and cost of the resulting platforms. Here we demonstrate a novel concept for photonic generation of broadband RFCWs using a simple architecture, involving a single CW laser, a recirculating frequency-shifting loop, and standard low-frequency electronics. All the chirp waveform parameters, namely sign and value of the chirp rate, central frequency and bandwidth, duration and repetition rate, are easily reconfigurable. We report the generation of mutually coherent RF chirps, with bandwidth above 28 GHz, and time-bandwidth product exceeding 1000, limited by the available detection bandwidth. The capabilities of this simple platform fulfill the stringent requirements for real-world applications. Producing versatile radio-frequency chirped waveforms often requires complicated techniques. The authors use a fiber-optic frequency-shifting loop to create a low-complexity photonic chirp generator with high bandwidth and fully flexible properties for application in radar, spectroscopy, and imaging.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-018-04822-4