Simplified architecture for photonic analog-to-digital conversion, utilizing an array of optical modulators

In this work a novel photonic sampled and electronically quantized analog-to-digital converter (ADC) system is introduced. High overall sampling rate and relaxed analog bandwidth requirements for photodetectors and electronic quantizers are attained by multichannel architecture. The proposed scheme, with a dedicated electro-optic modulator for each of the channels, is much simpler and has a perspective to outreach the performance of a similar time- wavelength demultiplexed photonic ADC. Absolute optical power isolation between the channels completely eliminates the issue of channel crosstalk, resulting in increased power efficiency of the system. Owing to small number of wavelength demultiplexers less wavelength alignment is required, which reduces the complexity of both photonic and electronic subsystems. Due to the significance of having compact, on-chip photonic ADCs, the analysis of integration of proposed system on a silicon platform is performed. The availability of high performance devices in various Si platforms, such as low loss Si waveguides, microring resonator filters, modulators, photodetectors, necessary for building the system, proves that the photonic ADC is well suited for integration on a silicon chip. For integrated version of proposed architecture Si microring resonator modulators are suitable. They are compact, and can have shorter total length of diode phase shifters as compared to Mach-Zehnder modulators, used in time-wavelength demultiplexed photonic ADCs. To achieve large modulation depth and lower nonlinear distortions, the choice of optimum optical bandwidth of microring modulator is analyzed. Finally, the nonlinearity analysis of ring modulators is performed and the influence of nonlinearities on the ADC performance is discussed.