Multiple wavelength photonic oscillator
First Claim
1. A multi-wavelength photonic oscillator comprising:
- (a) a plurality of lasers each emitting light at a different frequency;
(b) an optical wavelength multiplexer for combining the light emitted by the plurality of lasers at an output thereof as a set of optical wavelengths; and
(c) an optical modulator arranged in a feedback loop and coupled to receive light at the output of the optical wavelength multiplexer, the feedback loop having a loop gain greater than unity and including;
(i) an optical tap for coupling at least a subset of said set of optical wavelengths to at least one optical output of said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator;
(ii) at least one optical channel having an associated photodetector arranged to receive light from the optical tap via the at least one optical channel; and
(iii) an electronic loop portion coupled to receive output from the at least one associated photodetector and to provide an input for the optical modulator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-wavelength photonic oscillator has a plurality of lasers each emitting light at a different frequency. An optical wavelength multiplexer combines the light emitted by the plurality of lasers at an output thereof as a set of optical wavelengths. An optical modulator is arranged in a feedback loop and coupled to receive light at the output of the optical wavelength multiplexer, the feedback loop further including an optical tap for coupling at least a subset of said set of optical wavelengths to at least one optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic modulator; at least one optical channel having an associated photodetector arranged to receive light from the optical tap via the at least one optical channel; and an electronic loop portion coupled to receive output from the at least one associated photodetector and to provide an input for the optical modulator.
81 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A multi-wavelength photonic oscillator comprising:
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(a) a plurality of lasers each emitting light at a different frequency; (b) an optical wavelength multiplexer for combining the light emitted by the plurality of lasers at an output thereof as a set of optical wavelengths; and (c) an optical modulator arranged in a feedback loop and coupled to receive light at the output of the optical wavelength multiplexer, the feedback loop having a loop gain greater than unity and including; (i) an optical tap for coupling at least a subset of said set of optical wavelengths to at least one optical output of said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator; (ii) at least one optical channel having an associated photodetector arranged to receive light from the optical tap via the at least one optical channel; and (iii) an electronic loop portion coupled to receive output from the at least one associated photodetector and to provide an input for the optical modulator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 36)
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24. A transmitter comprising:
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(a) optical modulators for modulating optical local oscillator signals; (b) photodetectors coupled to outputs of the optical modulators for converting the modulated optical local oscillator signals to electrical radio frequency signals for subsequent application to antenna elements; and (c) an apparatus for generating the optical local oscillator signals comprising; (i) multi-wavelength photonic oscillator, said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator producing an optical output comprising multiple optical carriers and multiple modulation sidebands, said multiple optical carriers and multiple modulation sidebands being grouped into more than one wavelength region with the optical output at each wavelength region comprising at least an optical carrier and a modulation sideband; and (ii) a wavelength division demultiplexer coupled to receive the optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator, said wavelength division demultiplexer separating the optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator into more than one of said wavelength regions, with the optical output at each wavelength region comprising at least an optical carrier and a modulation sideband, the output at each wavelength region being suitable for determining a local oscillator frequency. - View Dependent Claims (25, 29, 38)
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26. A transmitter comprising:
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(a) optical modulators for modulating optical local oscillator signals; (b) photodetectors coupled to outputs of the optical modulators for converting the modulated optical local oscillator signals to electrical radio frequency signals for subsequent application to antenna elements; and (c) an apparatus for generating the optical local oscillator signals comprising; (i) multi-wavelength photonic oscillator; (ii) a wavelength division demultiplexer coupled to an optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator, said wavelength division demultiplexer separating the optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator into more than one wavelength region, with the optical output at each wavelength region comprising at least an optical carrier and a modulation sideband, the output at each wavelength region being suitable for determining a local oscillator frequency; and (iii) a plurality of slave lasers arranged as pairs of slave lasers, each pair of slave lasers being wavelength-associated with a particular wavelength region of said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator and being coupled to said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator via said wavelength division demultiplexer, and wherein one slave laser in each said pair of slave lasers is set so that its free-running wavelength matches a modulation sideband in an optical signal supplied by the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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30. A receiver comprising:
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(a) optical modulators for modulating optical local oscillator signals; (b) photodetectors coupled to outputs of the optical modulators for converting the modulated optical local oscillator signals to an electrical intermediate frequency or baseband signal for subsequent processing; and (c) an apparatus for generating the optical local oscillator signals comprising; (i) multi-wavelength photonic oscillator, said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator producing an optical output comprising multiple optical carriers and multiple modulation sidebands, said multiple optical carriers and multiple modulation sidebands being grouped into more than one wavelength region with the optical output at each wavelength region comprising at least an optical carrier and a modulation sideband; and (ii) a wavelength division demultiplexer coupled to receive the optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator, said wavelength division demultiplexer separating the optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator into more than one of said wavelength regions, with the optical output at each wavelength region comprising at least an optical carrier and a modulation sideband, the output at each wavelength region being suitable for determining a local oscillator frequency. - View Dependent Claims (31, 35, 37)
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32. A receiver comprising:
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(a) optical modulators for modulating optical local oscillator signals; (b) photodetectors coupled to outputs of the optical modulators for converting the modulated optical local oscillator signals to an electrical intermediate frequency or baseband signal for subsequent processing; and (c) an apparatus for generating the optical local oscillator signals comprising; (i) multi-wavelength photonic oscillator; and (ii) a wavelength division demultiplexer coupled to an optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator, said wavelength division demultiplexer separating the optical output of the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator into more than one wavelength region, with the optical output at each wavelength region comprising at least an optical carrier and a modulation sideband, the output at each wavelength region being suitable for determining a local oscillator frequency; and (iii) a plurality of slave lasers arranged as pairs of slave lasers, each pair of slave lasers being wavelength-associated with a particular wavelength region of said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator and being coupled to said multi-wavelength photonic oscillator via said wavelength division demultiplexer, and wherein one slave laser in each said pair of slave lasers is set so that its free-running wavelength matches a modulation sideband in an optical signal supplied by the multi-wavelength photonic oscillator. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification