Electro-Optic Beam Deflector

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Case Number 04UMC003 Abstract This invention is a critical component of an integrated electro-optic analog-to-digital converter (EOADC) that is based on the electro-optical deflection of an optical beam that is subsequently projected on a spatial filter. The EO (electro-optic) beam deflector operates on the principle of the linear EO effect which has an intrinsic response speed in the terahertz range. As a result of the microwave frequency optical beam deflector the EOADC described enables A/D conversion at the rate of up to 100G samples/sec. Both the rate of conversion and of the ADC resolution stand to increase with improvements in fabrication. POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATIONS: High speed electro-optic analog-to-digital converter (EOADC); Optical signal processing, displays, printing, scanning; Magneto-optic disk drives and CD players. MAIN ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION: High-speed deflection capability which is enabling for the UMC EOADC; Low-voltage operation capability will mean reduced power consumption; Small scale of device is attractive because the proposed EOADC would be used in mobile applications. POSSIBLE DISADVANTAGES OF INVENTION: Alignment of the laser and fabrication of the device may be more challenging than that of slower, non-optical ADC’s already in production. STATE OF DEVELOPMENT: Preliminary simulations have been completed. More simulation is needed before device construction. FURTHER R&D REQUIRED: Additional fabrication and demonstration of velocity matching of the microwave with the optical signal. Taxonomy Technology Categories/Digital Circuits/Electrical Engineering Keywords UM-Columbia, digital, analog, converter, electro-optic, beam, deflector, UMC