Patent ID: 11868025
Assignee: LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 9:
10. A method, comprising:
providing Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) numbered MZM #1 to MZM #n;
applying a first voltage waveform to a first optical arm of said MZM #1;
directing laser light into the two arms of at least said MZM #1 to produce a first output optical signal; and
utilizing said first output optical signal and MZMs numbered MZM #2 to said MZM #n to produce a final output voltage waveform, wherein:
said utilizing said first output optical signal and MZMs numbered MZM #2 to said MZM #n comprise utilizing said MZMs numbered MZM #2 to said MZM #n configured in a cascaded configuration with MZM #1, wherein said first voltage waveform is only applied to said first arm of said MZM #1 and wherein said first output optical signal is detected and amplified by a first amplified detector to produce a first amplified voltage waveform that is applied to an optical arm of said MZM #2; or wherein
said utilizing said first output optical signal and MZMs numbered MZM #2 to said MZM #n comprise utilizing said MZMs numbered MZM #2 to said MZM #n configured in a series configuration with MZM #1, wherein said first voltage waveform is applied to an optical arm of all said MZMs; and
wherein, compared to said input voltage, said output voltage waveform comprises at least one of
(i) a shorter rise time,
(ii) a shorter fall time,
(iii) increased signal temporal resolution,
(iv) increased small signal dynamic range,
(v) increased vertical resolution for small signals,
(vi) increased vertical resolution for large signals,
(vii) reduced noise on small signals,
(viii) reduced noise on large signals and
(ix) increased bandwidth.