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Journal of Lightwave Technology

RF Spectrum Analyzer for Pulsed Signals: Ultra-Wide Instantaneous Bandwidth, High Sensitivity, and High Time-Resolution

Perrine Berger, Yoann Attal, Muriel Schwarz, S. Molin, Anne Louchet-Chauvet, T. Chanelière, J.-L. Le Gouët, Daniel Dolfi, Loïc Morvan

Published May 5, 2016• 50 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on the experimental demonstration of a multi-gigahertz bandwidth RF spectrum analyzer based on spectral hole burning in a 3 K-cooled rare-earth ion-doped crystal. We implemented the so-called “rainbow” architecture in which the optically carried spectral components of the incoming signal are angularly separated by the crystal, and are then acquired with a pixelated photo-detector. With this setup, we have been able to monitor and record the spectrum of complex microwave signals over an instantaneous bandwidth above 20 GHz, with a time resolution below 100 μs, 400 resolvable frequency components and a 100% probability of intercept. RF pulsed signals in the μs range are perfectly analyzed with this high time-resolved set-up. The best achievable sensitivity for pulsed signals is computed and compared with another spectral hole burning technique.

DOI
10.1109/jlt.2016.2556008

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We report on the experimental demonstration of a multi-gigahertz bandwidth RF spectrum analyzer based on spectral hole burning in a 3 K-cooled rare-earth ion-doped crystal. We implemented the so-called “rainbow” architecture in which the optically carried spectral components of the incoming signal are angularly separated by the crystal, and are then acquired with a pixelated photo-detector. With this setup, we have been able to monitor and record the spectrum of complex microwave signals over an instantaneous bandwidth above 20 GHz, with a time resolution below 100 μs, 400 resolvable frequency components and a 100% probability of intercept. RF pulsed signals in the μs range are perfectly analyzed with this high time-resolved set-up. The best achievable sensitivity for pulsed signals is computed and compared with another spectral hole burning technique.
We report on the experimental demonstration of a multi-gigahertz bandwidth RF spectrum analyzer exhibiting a resolution below 20 MHz, based on spectral hole burning in a rare-earth ion-doped crystal. To be compatible with demanding real-time spectrum monitoring applications, our demonstrator is designed to reach a high time resolution. For this purpose, we implemented the so-called “rainbow” architecture in which the spectral components of the incoming signal are angularly separated by the crystal, and are then acquired with a pixelated photodetector. The Tm3+:YAG crystal is programmed with a semiconductor DFB laser which frequency scan is servo-controlled and synchronized with the angular scan of a resonant galvanometric mirror, while a high-speed camera is used to acquire the spectra. In the perspective of future implementation within a system, the crystal is cooled below 4 K with a closed-cycle cryostat. With this setup, we have been able to monitor and record the spectrum of complex microwave signals over an instantaneous bandwidth above 20 GHz, with a time resolution below 100 μs, 400 resolvable frequency components and a probability of intercept of 100 %.
We propose a novel, wideband spectrum analyzer based on spectral hole burning (SHB) technology. SHB crystals contain rare earth ions doped into a host lattice, and are cooled to cryogenic temperatures to allow sub-MHz hole burning linewidths. The signal spectrum is recorded in an SHB crystal by illuminating the crystal with an optical beam modulated by the RF signal of interest. The signal's spectral components excite those rare earth ions whose resonance frequencies coincide with the spectral component frequencies, engraving the RF spectrum into the crystal's absorption profile. Probing this altered absorption profile with a low power, chirped laser while measuring the transmitted intensity results in a time-domain readout of the accumulated RF signal spectrum. The resolution of the spectrum analyzer is limited only by the homogeneous linewidth of the rare earth ions (< 1 MHz when the SHB crystal is cooled to cryogenic temperatures). The spectrum analyzer bandwidth is limited by the inhomogeneous linewidth and by the electro-optic modulator bandwidth, both of which can be > 20 GHz.
Operation of a wideband, versatile optical spectrum analyzer for radio-frequency (RF) signals is demonstrated. The device is based on spectral hole burning (SHB). The demonstration features 2.3-GHz instantaneous bandwidth, 500-kHz resolution, and a 32-dB dynamic range. A true RF signal, transferred to the optical carrier with the help of a Mach-Zehnder modulator, is analyzed with optical carrier suppression and zooming capabilities. This is to the authors' knowledge the largest instantaneous bandwidth ever demonstrated for a SHB-based processor in rare-earth-doped crystals.
We demonstrate a 20 GHz spectrum analyzer with 1 MHz resolution and >40 dB dynamic range using spectral-hole-burning (SHB) crystals, which are cryogenically cooled crystal hosts lightly doped with rare-earth ions. We modulate a rf signal onto an optical carrier using an electro-optic intensity modulator to produce a signal beam modulated with upper and lower rf sidebands. Illuminating SHB crystals with modulated beams excites only those ions resonant with corresponding modulation frequencies, leaving holes in the crystal's absorption profile that mimic the modulation power spectrum and persist for up to 10 ms. We determine the spectral hole locations by probing the crystal with a chirped laser and detecting the transmitted intensity. The transmitted intensity is a blurred-out copy of the power spectrum of the original illumination as mapped into a time-varying signal. Scaling the time series associated with the transmitted intensity by the instantaneous chirp rate yields the modulated beam's rf power spectrum. The homogeneous linewidth of the rare-earth ions, which can be <100 kHz at cryogenic temperatures, limits the fundamental spectral resolution, while the medium's inhomogeneous linewidth, which can be >20 GHz, determines the spectral bandwidth.
We demonstrate application of spectral hole burning to the spectral analysis of broad-band rf signals. In quite the same way as an acousto-optic spectrometer, the device operates on an optically carried rf signal and achieves angular separation of the signal spectral components. An instantaneous bandwidth of 2.5 GHz has been achieved, with a power dynamic range of 35 dB, limited by the detector. Extension to greater than 10 GHz instantaneous bandwidth with greater than 1000 channels is consistent with the active material capabilities.
We demonstrate the first 10-GHz instantaneous bandwidth radio-frequency spectrum analyzer based on spectral hole burning in Tm/sup 3+/:YAG. It exhibits 10 000 frequency channels and a resolution better than 1 MHz. Thanks to the fast and linear chirping capabilities of the laser used, it has a potential 100% probability of interception and a response time in the millisecond range. Its linear dynamic range of 16 dB is presently essentially limited by the modest amount of optical power available and can be further improved.