Limits for the Generation of Ultra-Wideband Signals with the Incoherent-Pulse-Shaping Technique

Recently, an nil-optical technique to generate arbitrary RF waveforms through Altering of the spectral density function of a broadband spectrally incoherent optical source has been introduced. The spectrum is tailored so that the output averaged intensity after large temporal modulation and subsequent distortion in a group-delay-dispersion circuit becomes the user-defined waveform. In general, there is a tradeoff between the spectral width and the signal-to-noise ratio of the output signal. Here, we provide an analytical treatment of the problem based on the optical coherence theory. In particular, we analyze the possibility to employ this technique for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications.