Microwave Photonic-assisted Analog-to-digital Converters Using Quantum Dash Mode-locked Laser

This paper introduces two photonic analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for RF and millimeter wave (mmWave) signal processing. The time-interleaved photonic ADC uses optical taps to increase the sampling rate, while the heterodyne photonic ADC down-converts input signals to intermediate frequencies (IF) in the optical domain, optimizing bandwidth and sampling. Both achieve an effect number of bits (ENOB) of 6 to 11 and support high-frequency signals, including IEEE V-band, as well as complex modulations. Moreover, these two photonic ADCs share the same programmable and reconfigurable microwave photonic (MWP) system setup with the only modification being a change in the length of optical fiber used.