High-speed, photonic analog-to-digital conversion using phase modulation

Summary form only given. Photonic systems provide an attractive means for increasing the sampling rate and resolution of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) through their high dynamic range, broadband sampling, and low-noise optical clocks. Many techniques have been introduced over the past 25 years utilizing parallel-channel optical modulation, wavelength-division multiplexing, time-division multiplexing, and time-stretching techniques. Here a new technique is presented utilizing a pipeline method of analog-to-digital conversion by using phase modulators. This technique borrows the idea of converting the data from analog to digital in the optical system from H.F. Taylor (1979). Taylor has chosen to process the data in parallel optical channels with Mach-Zehnder interferometers, whereas the phase modulation technique in this paper allows a pipeline scheme utilizing just one channel. This reduces the system´s electrical signal power, optical components, and size.