University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.

Other

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Harris Corporation

Telcordia Technologies, Inc.

Raydiance, Inc.

Peter J Delfyett

Jannick P Rolland

Sangyoun Gee

Richard A Stoltz

Kyungbum Kim

Franklyn John Quinlan

Bojan Resan

Michael Plascak

Ricardo Bustos Ramirez

Sarper Ozharar

Andreas Leven

Shahab Etemad

Ibrahim T Ozdur

Tolga Yilmaz

Christopher M Depriest

Hong Shi

Brian Mathason

Robert R Alfano

Young-Kai Chen

Stefano Galli

Janet L Jackel

Paul Toliver

Myoung-Taek Choi

Richard DeSalvo

Thomas C Banwell

Ronald Charles Menendez

John Richard Desalvo

Michael Goldblatt

Anthony C Klee

Young Kai Chen

Kye-Sung Lee

Panomsak Meemon

Roger Dorsinville

Geoffrey Lynn Burdge

Kristina Bagnell

Trino Croeze

Eric Park

Nazanin Hoghooghi

Michael M Mielke

Josue Davila-Rodriguez

A Yusim

S Gee

Charles Williams

Bruce W FitzGerald

Edris Sarailou

Bruce Fitzgerald

Myoun-Taek Choi

Scott Rozzo

Janet Lehr Jackel

Thomas Clyde Banwell

A tunable comb generator may include a light source to generate an optical signal, an intensity modulator to modulate an intensity of the optical signal from the light source based on a RF drive signal, a frequency-locking loop (FLL) to maintain an optical frequency of the optical signal received from the intensity modulator at a target optical frequency corresponding to a resonance frequency of a periodic optical filter in the FLL, and an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) loop. The OEO loop may include a photodetector to generate the RF drive signal based on the optical signal from the FLL, a tunable phase shifter to select a resonance frequency of the OEO loop corresponding to a harmonic of the resonance frequency of the periodic optical filter, and one or more phase modulators to generate an optical comb signal by modulating a portion of the optical signal from the FLL.

Periodic optical filter stabilized tunable comb generator

Apparatus and methods demonstrate a chip-scale direct optical to RF link that frequency divides up to 120 GHz optical frequency combs to 10 GHz using harmonic multi-tone injection locking. The embodied invention links widely separated optical frequency combs in the millimeter wave regime (&#x3e;120 GHz) or THz domain (100s of GHz to THz domain), e.g., microresonator-based frequency combs, which are currently outside of the photo-detection region, into the microwave domain (10s of GHz) where it can be easily photo-detected and controlled. The technique works as a perfect optical divider, using a mode-locked laser and optical injection locking as the technique to phase-lock both lasers.

Harmonic injection locking apparatus, methods, and applications

A tunable electro-optic modulation (EOM) comb generator includes a frequency locking optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) loop including RF electrical components including a phase shifter (PS), a splitter, and optical components including an intensity modulator (IM) coupled to receive light from a light source and to couple modulated light generated to a frequency locking loop including a frequency shifter, a first phase modulator (PM), and a periodic optical filter (POF), such as an etalon or resonator. The POF is for optically filtering the OEO loop to generate an optical output and the splitter is for generating RF electrical outputs including at least one RF output coupled to an input of the IM and another RF output coupled to an EO comb including at least a phase modulator. The EO comb combines the optical output and the another RF output to generate a broadband optical frequency comb output.

A mode-locked laser (MLL) that produces ultra-low phase noise optical and RF outputs, includes two nested resonant optical cavities including an optical fiber-based cavity and an etalon, and a three bandwidth Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) frequency stabilizer assembly incorporating three different optical bandpass filters. The optical fiber-based cavity is characterized by a free spectral range, FSR, and the etalon is characterized by a free spectral range, FSR, wherein FSR/FSRis an integer equal to or greater than 2. A method of generating ultra-low phase noise optical and RF outputs is disclosed. Optical and RF outputs have a phase noise that is less than &#x2212;100 dBc/Hz at 1 Hz and less than &#x2212;150 dBc at 10 KHz.

Ultra-low noise mode-locked laser, methods, and applications

Stabilization of an injection locked optical frequency comb is achieved through polarization spectroscopy of an active laser cavity, eliminating optical PM sidebands inherent in previous stabilization methods. Optical SNR of 35 dB is achieved. A monolithic AlInGaAs quantum well Fabry-Prot laser injection locked to a passively mode-locked monolithic laser is presented here. The FP laser cavity can be used as a true linear interferometric intensity modulator for pulsed light.

Stabilization of an injection locked harmonically mode-locked laser via polarization spectroscopy for frequency comb generation

A laser ablation method and apparatus uses a laser device to generate a pulsed laser using a laser device and to project the pulsed laser onto an ablation target to be ablated. A probe is then used to measure an indicative property of the ablation target or of the pulsed laser projected on the ablation target. A control loop is used to optimize ablation effect by generating a feedback signal according to the measured indicative property, sending the feedback signal to a control unit, and adjusting an output parameter of the pulsed laser according to the feedback signal. The measured indicative property may be a size of the laser beam spot or a material composition. The ablation, the feedback and the adjustment may be performed dynamically.

Laser ablation method and apparatus having a feedback loop and control unit

Apparatuses and methods for modulating an optical signal are disclosed. One embodiment is a method comprising: phase modulating a slave laser which is injection locked to a master laser to produce an arcsine phase modulated optical signal, and combining the arcsine phase modulated optical signal with an output optical signal from the master laser.

Optical modulator with linear response

Methods, apparatus and systems for an optical system for data harvesting and pattern recognition. The system includes a mode locked laser for producing a comb of optical frequencies that is split into two identical combs, a wavelength division demultiplexer eparate the individual optical frequency components of one comb and modulates each optical frequency component with a different one of plural target objects. A second modulator modulates an input signal with the second comb and an optical splitter splits the modulated signal into plural optical frequency components each containing the input signal. An optical combiner simultaneously combines the components containing the real time signal with one of the components containing a target object to produce a temporally modulated interferogram, and a comparator simultaneously compares the two on a comb by comb basis using balanced differential detection to determine any of the plural target objects are found in the input signal.

Signal processing using spectrally phase encoded optical frequency combs

An optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is used to provide a continuous, high Q, modulated signal for a variety of purposes, including a carrier wave for communications, and radar emissions. The OEO of this invention replaces an RF filter in the conventional OEO with an interferometer, preferably a high finesse Fabry-Perot etalon as the mode selector, providing lower phase noise and higher RF frequency stability.

Optoelectronic oscillator using a high finesse etalon

Systems and methods for implementing and using optoelectronic gates are disclosed. One such method includes superimposing an electrical data bit onto a first optical input to produce a pair of first-stage optical outputs. The first one of the pair of first-stage optical outputs carries the electrical data bit and the second carries the complement of the electrical data bit. The method further includes comparing an electrical target bit with the electrical data bit conveyed by the first first-stage optical outputs and with the complement of the electrical data bit conveyed by the second first-stage optical outputs, to determine whether the electrical target bit and the electrical data bit are same or different.

Optoelectronic logic gate

A signal receiver, such as an RF-matched filter receiver, includes an optical source (e.g. a mode-locked laser) providing an optical signal, and a first optical modulator to modulate the optical signal with a received RF signal and provide a modulated optical signal. A second optical modulator modulates the modulated optical signal with a reference signal and provides a twice modulated optical signal. The modulators may be Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZM) and/or Indium Phosphide (InP) modulators. An optical detector receives the twice modulated optical signal and provides a detected signal, and a processing unit receives the detected signal and extracts or measures cross-correlation between the received RF signal and the reference signal.

Radio frequency (RF) signal receiver using optical processing and associated methods

Systems, devices and methods of generating both a precision electrical timing signal as well as a precision optical timing signal. A novel, modified opto-electronic loop oscillator is used to drive a harmonic mode-locked laser. A novel opto-electronic loop has a larger 'Q' factor by increasing the electrical loop oscillating frequency &#x3c9;by using a beat note created by the selection of two optical longitudinal modes from the mode-locked laser. The beat note is detected and divided down to drive a modulator that mode-locks the laser. The frequency division stage also reduces the noise.

Ultralow noise mode-locked laser and RF sinewave source

Systems and methods of generating a tunable laser beam are disclosed. An example method includes: generating coherent optical beams from a plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs); combining the coherent optical beams into a combined coherent optical beam; and tuning the combined beam to a selected frequency range to output a coherent optical beam having only the selected frequency range. In some embodiments, the SOAs are arranged in parallel within a resonant cavity, and each coherent optical beam has a different center wavelength that overlaps in bandwidth with another one of the coherent optical beams.

Systems and methods for generating a tunable laser beam

Methods, apparatus and systems for an optical system for data harvesting and pattern recognition. The system includes a mode locked laser for producing a comb of optical frequencies that is split into two identical combs, a wavelength division demultiplexer separate the individual optical frequency components of one comb and modulates each optical frequency component with a different one of plural target objects. A second modulator modulates an input signal with the second comb and an optical splitter splits the modulated signal into plural optical frequency components each containing the input signal. An optical combiner simultaneously combines the components containing the real time signal with one of the components containing a target object to produce a temporally modulated interferogram, and a comparator simultaneously compares the two on a comb by comb basis using balanced differential detection to determine any of the plural target objects are found in the input signal.

Signal processing using spectrally phase-encoded optical frequency combs

The present invention relates to advances in the field of reconfigurable optical networks. In particular, the present invention provides improvements in the technology of light sources for use in optical networks. The optical network according to the present invention includes a single light source that can be used to emit all of the bands and channels needed for transmission. In particular, the single light source in the optical network of the present invention is a mode-locked laser.

Mode-locked optical amplifier as a source for a wdm-WDM hierarchy architecture

Growing community of inventors

Oviedo, FL, United States of America

Peter J Delfyett