Radio Frequency Photonic Synthesizer

摘要

An electro-optic device that synthesizes RF frequencies photonically by selection of two individual frequency pulses from a comb of frequencies generated by an actively mode-locked laser. The two frequencies are then combined (heterodyned) to produce the desired optical frequency source. The highly phase stable optical signal can be utilized in the photonic domain or detected for use as an electronic signal source. The prototype unit is rack mounted and computer controlled. The research conducted on this program verified the concept, produced a working prototype, and proposed the miniaturization of the photonic synthesizer.