Real-time RF Sensor Monitoring Based on Optical Injected Semiconductor Laser and Temporal Measurement

Ultrafast and real-time RF sensor monitoring is in true demand for dynamic and transient sensing scenarios. In this paper, a high resolution and real-time RF sensor interrogation system based on an optically injected semiconductor laser and temporal measurement is proposed. Eliminating the need for RF spectrum measurement, the frequency of the RF sensor can be determined from temporal measurements featuring high speed and high resolution. In addition, no temporal reference signal is required and RF sensor interrogation is achieved by direct measurement of time interval of a pair of electrical pulses. Real-time monitoring of a RF temperature sensing is experimentally demonstrated and our results show that the proposed system offers a measurement bandwidth of 6 GHz, and an interrogation speed of 1 MHz. Only a very low temporal sampling rate of 60 MS/s is required.