Scalable arbitrary optical waveform generation

Abstract

The examples herein provide enhanced optical architectures employing techniques and systems for scaling up a signal bandwidth and correcting errors in optical signals to achieve a corrected waveform that can be adjusted for the desired application with broad tuning of bandwidth, chirp rate, chirp duration and symmetry. An optical signal is provided for circulation in an optical loop, and incremental modulations are applied to the optical signal over a quantity of circulations to establish circulating waveforms that form a composite waveform. Detected errors in the circulating waveforms can be corrected during the incremental modulations. In some instances, a portion of the optical signal comprising the composite waveform can then be directed for emission toward a remote target and remote sensing of properties of the remote target.