Time-resolved chirp measurement for 100GBaud test systems using an ideal frequency discriminator

In this paper we present multi-channel chirp measurements of wide-band sources, using a programmable Fourier-domain optical processor (FDOP) as a near-perfect linear frequency discriminator element followed by a fast photodiode and electrical sampling oscilloscope. The electric field of a 10.7 Gbit/s phase-encoded data source and a directly modulated laser diode are simultaneously interrogated with this measurement system. The constellation diagram of the phase-encoded data source is demonstrated, and a comparison with another phase-sensitive measurement technique is performed. Additionally, an extension to this technique is demonstrated in which the time-resolved chirp of a picosecond-duration mode-locked laser diode with a 260 GHz spectral bandwidth is characterised using the FDOP and a high-bandwidth optical sampling oscilloscope. This measurement ensemble has sufficient temporal resolution to characterise random or repetitive data signals up to 100GBaud.