Abstract
We conducted a comparative study of two schemes of photonic generation and switching of few-cycle sub-THz or millimeter wave (MMW) pulses by use of a photonic-transmitter-mixer (PTM) module with a broadband and high-power near-ballistic uni-traveling carrier photodiode (NBUTC-PD). In the first scheme, we performed all-optical ultra-fast switching (bias modulation) of the PTM injected with a 93 GHz optical local-oscillator signal. Sub-2-cycle short MMW pulses with central frequency at 93 GHz were generated. To compare, in scheme 2, we employed femtosecond optical short pulses to directly excite the PTM under a DC bias (optical modulation). The former approach is shown to be capable of providing much less signal distortion and much shorter pulse duration than the latter. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.