Generalized Linear Optical Sampling Technique Realized by Using Non-Pulse Electro-Optic Frequency Comb Sampling Source

We propose a novel generalized linear optical sampling (GLOS) technique realized by using an electro-optic frequency comb (EOFC) as the sampling signal. GLOS technique is demonstrated as a bandwidth compression process in frequency domain instead of gating effect in time domain. An EOFC without the limitation to be ultra-short pulse serves as sampling signal is pre-measured. In experiments, the waveforms are sampled by an EOFC with agile repetition rates and bandwidths. After a demodulation process with pre-measured information, the original signal under test in both intensity and phase fields can be recovered. The results obtained from the proposed method are consistent with those from traditional linear optical sampling technique. Besides, with a high average mode power, EOFC-based GLOS technique realizes more than 10 dB SNR improvement and has ability to detect weak signal with a power of -47.3 dBm. Our demonstration opens the way for cost-effective comb sources to be used in optical sampling fields.