Patent ID: 7889107

Claim:
A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) comprising: a plurality of electro-optical converters each configured to selectively generate one of a plurality of first optical signals in response to a corresponding one of a plurality of digital input signals collectively representing a selected one of a plurality of bit patterns associated with the DAC; a plurality of optical attenuators, each configured to attenuate an intensity of a corresponding one of the plurality of first optical signals to generate a plurality of second optical signals, wherein each of the plurality of optical attenuators is configured to have a different optical attenuation such that the corresponding ones of the plurality of second optical signals have different intensities; an optical coupler configured to combine the plurality of second optical signals and to generate a third optical signal; and a photodetector configured to convert the third optical signal into an electrical analog signal having a signal level corresponding to a digital-to-analog conversion of the selected one of the plurality of bit patterns.