Millimeter-wave arbitrary waveform generation with a direct space-to-time pulse shaper

By using tailored pulse sequences from a novel, 1.5-mum direct space-to-time pulse shaper driving a high-speed photodetector, we have achieved, for the first time to our knowledge, millimeter-wave arbitrary waveform generation at center frequencies approaching 50 GHz. By appropriately designing the driving optical pulse sequences, we demonstrate the ability to synthesize strongly phase- and frequency-modulated millimeter-wave electrical signals on a cycle-by-cycle basis. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.