Abstract

Improving the bit resolution is a major challenge for the photonic quantization schemes based on the phase shifting of modulation transfer functions of Mach–Zehnder modulators (MZMs), since their quantization levels are limited to be ${2}N$, where $N$ is the number of employed modulators or optical channels. In this paper, we propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, resolution-enhanced photonic quantization scheme, in which the input analog signals are quantized based on the intensity-weighted modulation transfer functions. By using $N$-wavelength sampling, ${2}N$ weighted modulation transfer functions and ${2}N + {1}$ quantization levels can be obtained with only two MZMs. Hence, the proposed scheme can greatly improve the system bit resolution with a relatively simple configuration. A proof-of-concept experiment of a 17-level quantization system is carried out, which fully verifies the feasibility of the approach. Meanwhile, the performance degradation induced by the errors in the bias phase and the power deviation of sampling pulses is discussed. In addition, the performance limitation induced by the sampling source and dispersion-induced broadening is also investigated.

© 2020 Optical Society of America

Photonic quantization and encoding scheme with improved bit resolution based on waveform folding

Shuna Yang, Hongxia He, Hao Chi, and Ran Zeng
Opt. Express 27(24) 35565-35573 (2019)

Photonic analog-to-digital converter using Mach-Zehnder modulators having identical half-wave voltages with improved bit resolution

Shuna Yang, Chao Wang, Hao Chi, Xianmin Zhang, Shilie Zheng, Xiaofeng Jin, and Jianping Yao
Appl. Opt. 48(22) 4458-4467 (2009)

A photonic analog-to-digital conversion scheme using Mach-Zehnder modulators with identical half-wave voltages

Hao Chi and Jianping Yao
Opt. Express 16(2) 567-572 (2008)

All-optical analog-to-digital conversion scheme based on Sagnac loop and balanced receivers

Kun Xu, Jian Niu, Yitang Dai, Xiaoqiang Sun, Jian Dai, Jian Wu, and Jintong Lin
Appl. Opt. 50(14) 1995-2000 (2011)

Photonic sampled and quantized analog-to- digital converters on thin-film lithium niobate platform

Donghe Tu, Xingrui Huang, Hang Yu, Yuxiang Yin, Zhiguo Yu, Zhongming Wei, and Zhiyong Li
Opt. Express 31(2) 1931-1942 (2023)