Broadband and real-time waveform sampling using optic-microwave phase-locking

A real-time, 100-GHz, high-fidelity photoconductive sampling system has been demonstrated. The system provides a 4-ps time resolution and 5- Omega / square root Hz sensitivity. A potential application of this technique is the real-time characterization of monolithic microwave/millimeter-wave integrated circuits with bandwidths higher than that of a conventional network analyzer. Phase control of the microwave signal is also possible, since the microwave oscillator is enslaved by the laser pulses through phase-locking.<
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