Precise Control of Broadband Frequency Chirps Using Optoelectronic Feedback

Abstract

We demonstrate the generation of wideband frequency sweeps using a semiconductor laser in an optoelectronic feedback loop. The rate and shape of the optical frequency sweep is locked to and determined by the frequency of a reference electronic signal, leading to an agile, high coherence swept-frequency source for laser ranging and 3-D imaging applications. Using a reference signal of constant frequency, a transform limited linear sweep of 100 GHz in 1 ms is achieved, and real-time ranging with a spatial resolution of 1.5 mm is demonstrated. Further, arbitrary frequency sweeps can be achieved by tuning the frequency of the input electronic signal. Broadband quadratic and exponential optical frequency sweeps are demonstrated using this technique.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 25, 2009
Accession Number
AD1021817

Entities

People

  • Amnon Yariv
  • Arseny Vasilyev
  • George Rakuljic
  • Naresh Satyan
  • Victor Leyva

Organizations

  • California Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bandwidth
  • Broadband
  • Closed Loop Systems
  • Control Systems
  • Distortion
  • Distributed Feedback Lasers
  • Frequency
  • Interferometers
  • Laser Diodes
  • Lasers
  • Measurement
  • Optics
  • Optoelectronic Feedback
  • Semiconductor Lasers
  • Semiconductors
  • Steady State
  • Three Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Engineering
  • Physics

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Radar Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics