Photonic RF Phase-Encoded Signal Generation With a Microcomb Source

TLDR

The study demonstrates photonic RF phase encoding using an integrated micro‑comb source. The method uses a transversal filtering structure to assemble single‑cycle Gaussian pulse replicas, with phase‑encoded waveforms generated by programming the wavelength‑channel weights of the micro‑comb. The approach eliminates the need for external RF or arbitrary‑waveform generators, achieves a 30× pulse compression ratio with up to 60 wavelengths, supports reconfigurable phase‑encoding rates of 2–6 Gb/s, and shows the micro‑comb’s potential for high‑speed, low‑cost RF photonic phase encoding.

Abstract

We demonstrate photonic RF phase encoding based on an integrated micro-comb source. By assembling single-cycle Gaussian pulse replicas using a transversal filtering structure, phase encoded waveforms can be generated by programming the weights of the wavelength channels. This approach eliminates the need for RF signal generators for RF carrier generation or arbitrary waveform generators for phase encoded signal generation. A large number of wavelengths of up to 60 were provided by the microcomb source, yielding a high pulse compression ratio of 30. Reconfigurable phase encoding rates ranging from 2 to 6 Gb/s were achieved by adjusting the length of each phase code. This work demonstrates the significant potentials of this microcomb-based approach to achieve high-speed RF photonic phase encoding with low cost and footprint.