SBIR-STTR Award

The recent development of ultrafast optoelectronictechniques has allowed novel high-bandwidth on-wafer devicecharacterization. The advantages of optoelectronic techniquesover conventional, purely electronic ones are achievable bandwidth (up to 1000 GHz) and physical closeness of the responsemeasurement planes to the device under test (DINT) foreliminating any discontinuities and errors. Proposed is a novelapproach in which an induced sustainable pulsation (ISP)semiconductor laser diode will be used for picosecond pulsegeneration and probing. This patent pending technique offers theadvantages of:Very Low Cost: Commercially, high power, low cost (severaldollars) semiconductor laser diodes can be used for generation ofultra-short pulses.Compact and Reliable:It is much compact and reliable than abulky solid state laser. It is also insensitive to vibrations andmisalignments.Very Short Pulses (Ultra-Broad Frequency Bandwidth): The pulsesless than 1 ps can be generated. It translates into a frequencybandwidth >350 GHz.Ultra High Repetition Rate (Sampling Rate): The repetition mayreach up to 100 GHz for achieving high signal to noise ratio andsingles hot event measurement.Compatible with MANIC for Monolithic Optoelectronic Integrationfor low cost, mass productions.Potential commercial application of the research:This R&Dprogram it result in a significant breakthrough in the area oflow cost, high performance instruments for on-wafer instrumentsfor ultra-wideband microwave/millimeter-wave signals. Theseinstruments are essential for developing new components anddevices for microwave and fiber-optic communications, novelantennas, and optoelectronic-systems.