Gigahertz bit rate analog to digital conversion with optical outputs using cleaved-coupled-cavity semiconductor lasers

Abstract
A combined high-speed analog to digital converter, and optical transmitter, based on the frequency tuning capability of cleaved-coupled-cavity semiconductor lasers is proposed and demonstrated. The device, which acts as a level discriminator with optical outputs can either continuously sample the analog input or be strobed at rates up to ∼ 1 Gsamples/s. A four-level conversion of a 100-MHz sinusoidal input is shown.