Picosecond optical sampling

A high speed sampling technique is proposed using a cascade of optical waveguide interferometers driven by CW sinusoidal traveling or standing microwaves. Each interferometer multiplies the optical signal by a function closely approximated by cos to the 4th omega t, where omega is the frequency of its microwave drive. A cascade of four interferometers with 2.6 V microwave drives at 10, 20, 40, and 80 GHz and a total length of 2 cm can sample an optical signal with 2 ps resolution and 50 ps between samples. The sampler might be used in a picosecond sampling oscilloscope or in experiments requiring a jitter-free train of identical pulses.