Power scaling in photonic time-stretched analog-to-digital converters

Abstract

The photonic time-stretch technique can be used for achieving ADCs at higher frequencies by reducing power dissipation, and overcoming the barrier due to clock jitter and the limited speed of electronics. The TS-ADC can also be very useful in applications such as antenna remoting, since no additional hardware is required to provide the option of remoting in communications and radar systems. In this mode of operation, the dispersive fiber that stretches the RF signal can also serve as the fiber link. Optical subsystems are being developed for signal transmission at board levels and chip levels to reduce power dissipation and achieve high throughput rates.