Demonstration of a Self-Synchronized Polyphase Sampling and Demultiplexing Scheme for Radio-Frequency Analog Signals

A novel self-synchronizing optoelectronics polyphase scheme for sampling and demultiplexing radio-frequency (RF) signals is demonstrated. One unique feature of this approach is that the optically sampled RF signal always remains in the electrical domain and thus eliminates the need for electrical-to-optical and back to electrical conversions. Furthermore, the simplicity and ease of construction of the scheme readily allows it to be scaled to obtain high sampling rates. As a proof of concept, a 100-MHz RF electrical signal sampled at the rate of 1.28 GS/s and then demultiplexed into four 320-MHz signals was experimentally demonstrated.