A Novel Photonic Clock and Carrier Recovery Device

Abstract

As data communication rates climb toward ten Gb/s, clock recovery and synchronization become more difficult, if not impossible, using conventional electronic circuits. We present in this article experimental results of a high speed clock and carrier recovery using a novel device called the photonic oscillator that we recently developed in our laboratory. This device is capable of recovering clock signals up to 70 GHz. To recover the clock, the incoming data is injected into the photonic oscillator either through the optical injection port or the electrical injection port. The free running photonic oscillator is tuned to oscillate at a nominal frequency equal to the clock frequency of the incoming data. With the injection of the data, the photonic oscillator will be quickly locked to the to the clock frequency of the data stream while rejecting other frequency components associated with the data. Consequently, the output of the lacked photonic oscillator is a continuous periodical wave synchronized with the incoming data or simply the recovered clock. We have demonstrated a clock to spur ratio of more than 60 dB of the recovered clock using this technique. Similar to the clock recovery, the photonic oscillator can be used to recover a high frequency carrier degraded by noise and an improvement of about 50 dB in signal-to-noise-ratio was demonstrated. The photonic oscillator has both electrical and optical inputs and outputs and can be directly interfaced with a photonic system without signal conversion. In addition to clock and carrier recovery, the photonic oscillator can also be used for (1) stable high frequency clock signal generation, (2) frequency multiplication, (3) square wave and comb frequency generation, and (4) photonic phase locked loop.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA502309

Entities

People

  • George Lutes
  • Lute Maleki
  • X. S. Yao

Organizations

  • California Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analyzers
  • Automatic Gain Control
  • Bandwidth
  • Carrier Frequencies
  • Clocks
  • Crystal Oscillators
  • Delay Lines
  • Electro-Optic Modulators
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Domain
  • Generators
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Modulators
  • Oscillators
  • Recovery
  • Signal Generators
  • Spectrum Analyzers

Readers

  • Electronics Engineering
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics