All-optical high-frequency characterization of optical devices for optomicrowave applications

Presents an original method to investigate the frequency response of optomicrowave devices in the GHz-THz range. In order to reach such a high bandwidth, we take advantage of the wide spectrum associated with femtosecond laser pulses. Using nonlinear crosscorrelation optical technique under appropriate conditions, the transfer function of a device is derived from its measured impulse response. We experimentally demonstrate our method by testing an integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which acts as a notch filter for modulation frequencies that are odd multiples of 15 GHz.