Ultra-Wideband Photonically Assisted Analog-to-Digital Converters (PACE) - Phase 2

Building on low jitter mode-locked lasers, joint electrical-optical signal processing in analog-to-digital converters enables both ultra-wideband and ultra-low-noise signal acquisition. In PACE, we are investigating novel integrated time-interleaved and frequency-sliced photonically assisted analog-to-digital converters aimed at surpassing the current state-of-the-art analog-bandwidth-resolution product. In addition to the data-converters themselves, integrated solution for low jitter comb sources are also pursued, with the objective to provide a complete solution towards full system integration. Building on the accomplishments of the first phase, the bandwidth of frequency-sliced ADCs will be increased above 400 GHz based on a chip-scale optical engine. Time-interleaved ADCs will leverage novel optically triggered track-and-hold amplifiers as well as opto-electronic phase-locked loops developed in the first project phase. Rare-earth on-chip mode-locked lasers will serve as a reference to long term stabilize semiconductor mode-locked lasers, thus upconverting their repetition rate while maintaining low jitter operation. Novel capacitively coupled silicon-organic hybrid electro-optic modulators will be advanced with respect to bandwidth and benchmarked against ultra-broadband thin-film lithium niobate devices developed in the context of the project.