High-Speed Electrical Sampling Using Optical Second-Harmonic Generation

Copyright © (1996) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics

We report the first application of optical second harmonic generation to the measurement of ultrafast electrical pulses. The technique relies on the sensitivity of the second-harmonic response to electric fields in centrosymmetric materials. Electrical pulses propagating on a silicon-based coplanar transmission line have been characterized with subpicosecond time resolution and 100 mV sensitivity. We have measured the bias dependence of the second harmonic intensity over a 20 volt range and use this data to calibrate the transient response. The observed response time (FWHM) of the SHG waveform is -1 ps, which is consistent with the value obtained from an electronic cross-correlation measurement. (Dept764)

By: Ajay Nahata (Columbia Univ.), Tony F. Heinz (Columbia Univ.) and James A. Misewich

Published in: Applied Physics Letters, volume 69, (no 6), pages 746-68 in 1996

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