Abstract:
The detailed analysis of a highspeed optical analogtodigital (A/D) converter consisting of an array of coplanar waveguide (CPW) travelingwave interferometric modulators on xcut LiNbO3 substrate has been performed. The development of this kind of optical A/D converters is described. The relation of smallsignal bandwidth, impedance, microwave attenuation parameters and drive power to the trapezoidal CPW electrode parameters including the electrode thickness, the buffer layer thickness to the edge inclination of the central electrode and ground planes β1,βg by coformal mapping are analyzed. When the electrode thickness is 3μm and β1=βg=10°,the bandwidth of 4bit A/D converter is 7.3GHz and the requirement of drive power is 6.7W. The numerical results show that it is feasible to design a highspeed A/D converter using travelingwave interferometric modulator with moderate resolution.