Spurious-free dynamic range of a high-resolution photonic time-stretch analog-to-digital converter system

Abstract

We measure the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) for a 10-GHz photonic time-stretch ADC system. Unlike single-octave microwave systems, the second-order spurs limit the SFDR to 88 dB-Hz 1/2 at 10 GHz and 95 dB-Hz 1/2 at 1 GHz. Simulations that include modulator arm bias mismatch and equalization agree with experiments. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.