Submicrosecond speed variable optical attenuator usingacoustooptics

A novel variable optical attenuator (VOA) is introduced that can provide high dynamic range and high-resolution all at fast submicrosecond speeds. The VOA design exploits an in-line one-to-one imaging optical architecture operating with Bragg-mode acoustooptic Bragg cells. Optical attenuation is achieved via frequency and drive voltage control of the Bragg cells, leading to flexible and precise attenuation-level settings. VOA demonstrated a 45-dB dynamic range with a 175-ns switching time. Other measured parameters include 1.14-dB/MHz resolution, 1.56-dB polarization dependent loss, and an excess loss of 3.55 dB     

A MEMS VOA Using Electrothermal Actuators

A comprehensive study of electrothermally driven microelectromechanical system (MEMS) variable optical attenuator (VOA) devices using an H-shaped structure is presented in this paper. Based on its unique structural design, a retroreflection-type VOA of smaller footprint is realized. The repeatability and stability of the static and transient characteristics of attenuation behavior at various ambient temperatures are characterized. The fluctuation of attenuation curves under the same driving voltage at the same ambient temperatures is less than plusmn0.1 dB. Again, comparing the attenuation curves measured at 25 degC to 75 degC and at 25 degC to 12.5 degC, the deviation of attenuation under the same driving voltage is within the 0.6-dB range. Within the 40-dB attenuation range, the measured switching time from nonattenuation state to a particular attenuation state or between two attenuation states is less than 10 ms. This electrothermally actuated MEMS VOA also demonstrates the state-of-the-art dynamic attenuation stability that complies with the Telecordia GR1221 regulations, where the dynamic fluctuation of attenuation at 20 dB is less than plusmn0.36 dB under a vibration testing condition of 20 G periodical shocks with frequency from 20 Hz to 2 kHz     

Wideband planar lightwave circuit type variable optical attenuator using phase-generating coupler

A novel wideband planar lightwave circuit type variable optical attenuator (VOA) that incorporates a phase-generating coupler is proposed. The proposed VOA was fabricated on a 1.5%-/spl Delta/ silica-based waveguide, and obtained a low insertion loss of less than 1.2 dB and a low wavelength dependent loss of less than 0.8 dB at attenuation levels of 0 to 25 dB over the C- and L-band wavelength range.     

Variable optical attenuator based on ion-exchange technology in glass

A thermooptic variable optical attenuator (VOA) based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer principle was fabricated in glass by an ion-exchange technique. The thermooptical effect was reached via heating electrodes on the side of the Mach-Zehnder arms. The insertion loss of the device was 1 dB, the dynamic range was 38 dB, maximal power consumption was 138 mW, and the polarization-dependent loss (PDL) was 0.2 dB/0.6 dB at 10 dB/20-dB attenuations, respectively.     

New miniature 15-20-GHz continuous-phase/amplitude control MMICs using 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology

The design and performance of two new miniature 360/spl deg/ continuous-phase-control monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) using the vector sum method are presented. Both are implemented using commercial 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The first phase shifter demonstrates all continuous phase and an insertion loss of 8 dB with a 37-dB dynamic range from 15 to 20 GHz. The chip size is 0.95 mm /spl times/ 0.76 mm. The second phase shifter can achieve all continuous phase and an insertion loss of 16.2 dB with a 38.8-dB dynamic range at the same frequency range. The chip size is 0.71 mm /spl times/ 0.82 mm. To the best of the authors' knowledge, these circuits are the first demonstration of microwave CMOS phase shifters using the vector sum method with the smallest chip size for all MMIC phase shifters with 360/spl deg/ phase-control range above 5 GHz reported to date.     

60-GHz-band coplanar MMIC active filters

This paper presents the design and performance of 60-GHz-band coplanar monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) active filters. To compensate for the loss of the passive filter, a resonator composed of a quarter-wavelength line is terminated by a circuit with a constant negative resistance over a wide frequency band. Cross-coupling is introduced to make the attenuation poles on both sides of the passband. We develop two types of two-stage filter: one with medium bandwidth and the other with narrow bandwidth. The former shows an insertion loss of 3.0 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of 2.6 GHz and a rejection of larger than 20 dB at a 3-GHz separation from a center frequency of 65.0 GHz. This filter also shows a noise figure of 10.5 dB. The latter filter shows an insertion loss of 2.8 dB with a 10-dB bandwidth of 2.1 GHz at a center frequency of 65.0 GHz. It also shows an output power of 5.0 dBm at a 1-dB compression point. The loss variation due to temperature variation is successfully compensated using a gate bias control circuit. The size of the MMIC filters is 2.5 mm/spl times/1.1 mm.     

Ring-hybrid microwave voltage-variable attenuator using HFET transistors

In this paper, a voltage-variable microwave attenuator circuit is presented. The input signal first enters a rat-race power splitter where a 0/spl deg/ and a 180/spl deg/ pair of signals is generated. The 0/spl deg/ signal passes through a common-gate field-effect transistor (FET) that is fully turned on, with its gate voltage set to 0 V. The 180/spl deg/ signal enters another common-gate transistor biased in the triode region. By changing the gate voltage of the second FET, the amplitude of the 180/spl deg/ signal is varied. The in-phase and out-of-phase signals are summed at the output and variable attenuation is achieved. The concept was demonstrated experimentally from 3.0 to 3.4 GHz and a variable attenuation from 6 to 30 dB was achieved. The phase response is linear over the frequency band and exhibits a group delay of 0.71 ns. The input 1-dB compression point of the attenuator is 0 dBm and the second harmonic suppression is 18.5 dB at 0-dBm input power.     

Single-pole double-throw CMOS switches for 900-MHz and 2.4-GHz applications on p/sup -/silicon substrates

A 900-MHz single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch with an insertion loss of 0.5 dB and a 2.4-GHz SPDT switch with an insertion loss of 0.8 dB were implemented using 3.3-V 0.35-/spl mu/m NMOS transistors in a 0.18-/spl mu/m bulk CMOS process utilizing 20-/spl Omega//spl middot/cm p/sup -/ substrates. Impedance transformation was used to reduce the source and load impedances seen by the switch to increase the power handling capability. SPDT switches with 30-/spl Omega/ impedance transformation networks exhibit 0.97-dB insertion loss and 24.3-dBm output P/sub 1dB/ when tuned for 900-MHz operation, and 1.10-dB insertion loss and 20.6-dBm output P/sub 1dB/ when tuned for 2.4-GHz operation. The 2.4-GHz switch is the first bulk CMOS switch which can be used for 802.11b wireless local area network applications.     

Retro-Axial VOA Using Parabolic Mirror Pair

This letter presents a design of a microelectromechanical systems variable optical attenuator (VOA) that employs a pair of parabolic mirrors as the retro-reflector, which has obtained a linear relationship over a 62-dB range between the attenuation (in decibels) and the mirror rotation angle (in degrees). The insertion loss measures 0.6 dB thanks to the three-dimentional optical coupling design. The linearity comes from the simultaneous shift and defocus of the laser beam. Compared with the conventional coaxial and cross-axial VOAs, such retro-axial design has the two fibers arranged on the same side and thus facilitates the use of standard packaging formats     

Broad-Band Microwave Measurements on GaAs "Traveling-Wave" Transistors

Instantaneous gain, noise figure, reverse attenuation, and gain and phase control measurements in the frequency range 8-18 GHz have been performed on GaAs traveling-wave transistors. The broad-band high-gain nature of the device together with the requirement for several bias connections precluded the use of standard test fixtures, and resulted in a package design exhibiting less than 1-dB insertion loss over the band together with 75- to 90-dB internal isolation. Untuned X-band gain, noise figure, and reverse attenuation were 12 dB, 18 dB, and 32 dB, respectively, and the gain and phase could be electronically varied over a 35-dB and 360/spl deg/ range. When RF tuning was employed, the gain, on the average, improved by 10 dB.     

Asymmetric Tuning Schemes of MEMS Dual-Shutter VOA

A dual-shutter MEMS variable optical attenuator (VOA) is designed for advanced tuning functions such as linear attenuation relationship and simultaneous coarse and fine tunings. The mechanism behind is to take advantage of the additional shutter to render one more degree of freedom for attenuation adjustment. Although dual-shutter VOAs with asymmetric functionalities have been reported before, these intrinsic capabilities owing to asymmetry have not been extensively investigated. In experiment, the fabricated VOA device has demonstrated a linear tuning over a 20-dB range with respect to the driving voltage of one shutter, and it has also realized simultaneously coarse tuning (2.5 dB/V) and fine tuning (0.1 dB/V) by the two shutters. Ideally, the tuning can start from any available working point, linear to any controlling parameter, at any slope of linearity, and with any tuning resolution. Theoretical attenuation model has also been developed to provide a roadmap for the VOA design and choice of working point. An interesting finding is that over a certain range the linear attenuation can be obtained by moving a fixed aperture rather than by reducing the aperture size, which greatly relaxes the difficulty of shutter position control. The measured results match well with the theoretical data, implying the possibility of developing a look-up table to locate the shutter positions quickly. The dual-shutter VOA accomplishes these features without the need of high-precision control systems and therefore gives a structure-based rather than a control-system-based solution, clearly advantageous over the previously developed VOAs.     

Metal-defined polymeric variable optical attenuator

A variable optical attenuator (VOA) based on a metal-defined polymeric optical waveguide has been demonstrated for the first time. The metal film stressor deposited on top of the upper cladding layer not only produces the refractive index change within the core layer, but also acts as a thin-film heater allowing thermal tuning of the optical power within a metal-defined optical waveguide. Fabricated devices exhibit greater than 25 dB of optical attenuation with an applied electrical current of /spl sim/40 mA at 1550-nm wavelength. The switching speed of the VOA exhibits 800 /spl mu/s of rising and 720 /spl mu/s of falling time.     

Low-Loss Cryogenic L-Band Circulator (Correspondence)

It is shown that a three-port stripline circulator can be constructed to operate in Z-band at 15/spl deg/K with 0.5 dB insertion loss and up to 20-percent bandwidth for the 20-dB isolation.     

A 2.7-V SiGe HBT variable gain amplifier for CDMA applications

A monolithic SiGe HBT variable gain amplifier with high dB-linear gain control and high linearity has been developed for CDMA applications. The VGA achieves a 30-dB dynamic gain control with a control range of 0-2.7 Vdc in 824-849 MHz band. The maximum gain and attenuation are 23 dB and 7 dB, respectively. Input/output VSWRs keep low and constant despite change in the gain-control voltage. At a low operation voltage of 2.7 V, the VGA produces a 1-dB compression output power of 13 dBm and /spl plusmn/885-kHz ACPR of -57 dBc at a 5-dBm output power.     

Development of multiband phase shifters in 180-nm RF CMOS technology with active loss compensation

We present the design and development of a novel integrated multiband phase shifter that has an embedded distributed amplifier for loss compensation in 0.18-/spl mu/m RF CMOS technology. The phase shifter achieves a measured 180/spl deg/ phase tuning range in a 2.4-GHz band and a measured 360/spl deg/ phase tuning range in both 3.5- and 5.8-GHz bands. The gain in the 2.4-GHz band varies from 0.14 to 6.6 dB during phase tuning. The insertion loss varies from -3.7 dB to 5.4-dB gain and -4.5 dB to 2.1-dB gain in the 3.5- and 5.8-GHz bands, respectively. The gain variation can be calibrated by adaptively tuning the bias condition of the embedded amplifier to yield a flat gain during phase tuning. The return loss is less than -10 dB at all conditions. The chip size is 1200 /spl mu/m/spl times/2300 /spl mu/m including pads.     

A Latching Ring-And-Post Ferrite Waveguide Circulator

This paper presents the performance and normalized design parameters for a latching ring-and-post ferrite circulator in waveguide. A C-band circulator has provided an insertion loss of 0.35 dB and a 20-dB isolation bandwidth of 17 percent. When the circulator was matched for higher maximum isolation (50 dB) but narrower bandwidth (10 percent) at room temperature, the 20-dB isolation bandwidth was 7.8 percent across the -40/spl deg/ to +75/spl deg/C temperature range. Low-loss operation was obtained at pulsed powers up to 7.5 kilowatts, and at least 20 dB of isolation was maintained up to 100 kilowatts. This performance, in conjunction with a switching speed of a fraction of a microsecond, permits the use of these circulators for transmitting-receiving functions in high-reliability RADARs.     

基于3 μm-SOI的波分复用/解复用器与电吸收型VOA的单片集成

波分复用/解复用器与可调光衰减器的是光通信系统中的重要元器件。为了得到制备工艺简单、响应速度快的二者的单片集成芯片,并且考虑到其与其他不同光器件的集成可能性,在绝缘体上硅材料制作了16通道、信道间隔200 GHz的阵列波导光栅复用/解复用器与电吸收型可调光衰减器的单片集成。该器件的片上损耗小于7 dB,串扰小于-22 dB。电吸收型VOA在20 dB的衰减量下的功耗为572 mW （106 mA,5.4 V）。此外,该器件可以实现光功率的快速衰减,在0~5 V的外加方波电压下,VOA上升及下降时间分别为50.5 ns和48 ns。     

Variable optical attenuator for large-scale integration

A polymer thermooptic variable optical attenuator (VOA) was designed and demonstrated for dense waveguide device integration. The waveguide bend design is compatible with photolithography fabrication techniques and operates by controlling waveguide bend radiation loss. The design optimizes the compromise between integration capability, integration cost, and attenuation efficiency. For a 5 mm bend length, optical attenuation of >40 dB has been achieved with an applied electrical power of 250 mW. The fiber-to-fiber insertion loss was 1.5 dB for a 20-mm total waveguide length. The design's compact size makes it practical for both VOA arrays and dense integrated optical circuits     

High-efficiency 1.3 /spl mu/m InAsP-GaInP MQW electroabsorption waveguide modulators for microwave fiber-optic links

High-efficiency electroabsorption waveguide modulators have been designed and fabricated using strain-compensated InAsP-GaInP multiple quantum wells at 1.32-/spl mu/m wavelength. A typical 200-/spl mu/m-long modulator exhibits a fiber-to-fiber optical insertion loss of 9 dB and an optical saturation intensity larger than 10 mW. The 3-dB electrical bandwidth is in excess of 20 GHz with a 50-/spl Omega/ load termination. When used in an analog microwave fiber-optic link without amplification, a RF link efficiency as high as -38 dB is achieved at 10 mW input optical carrier power. These analog link characteristics are the first reported using MQW electroabsorption waveguide modulators at 1.32 /spl mu/m.     

Compact polarization-independent Mach-Zehnder space switch combining carrier depletion and the quantum confined Stark effect

We have developed an n-doped InGaAs-InAsP quantum well between InP, which is suited for a polarization-independent Mach-Zender interferometric (MZI) space switch operating at 1.55 /spl mu/m. The InAsP is compressively strained and the InGaAs is tensile strained for polarization independence and for strain balancing. The important boundary condition for the design of this structure is the waveguide loss, which we limit to 0.6 dB/cm, and the crosstalk due to imbalance in the MZI, which we limit to <-30 dB. To reduce the size of the phase shifting region, while imposing this boundary condition, we combine the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) effect and the carrier-depletion effect by using an n-doped quantum well. The QCSE was first optimized for an undoped InGaAs-InAsP quantum well. A polarization independent /spl Delta/n of 7.8/spl middot/10/sup -4/ at 100 kV/cm was obtained at the expense of 0.2-dB/cm excess waveguide loss and 0.1-dB/mm electroabsorption loss. The carrier-depletion effect in a 2/spl middot/10/sup 11/cm/sup -2/-doped QW increases /spl Delta/n with a factor 2.6 to 2/spl middot/10/sup -3/, at the expense of 0.4-dB/cm free-carrier absorption-induced waveguide loss. The combination of the QCSE and carrier depletion results in a phase-shifter length of 0.46 mm for an MZI in push-pull configuration.