Abstract

All optical swept-frequency measurement of the gain of two types of microwave integrated circuits, a feedback amplifier and a distributed amplifier, was demonstrated. A diode laser excited an on-chip photodetector and the circuit response was measured with electro-optic sampling. The only physical contact probes were DC bias probes for the circuit and the on-chip MSM photodetector. The optically measured gains compared favorably to independent network analyzer measurements using contact probing. The integrated photodetector needed for signal generation is process compatible with MMIC technology, occupies a small space on the wafer, and requires no additional processing steps. Since the yield of the photodetector is very high compared to the MMICs, the all optical test is potentially a practical and low cost approach for RF monitoring of circuits.

© 1991 Optical Society of America