High-speed optoelectronic pulse generation and sampling system

A very-high-frequency (>100-GHz) optoelectronic pulsing and sampling system is presented. This system is used for the characterization of high-speed electronic devices and transmission line structures, and for the study of electronic transport phenomena at picosecond time scales. The signal-to-noise ratio obtained in this system is greater than 50 dB, the sensitivity limit is approximately 1 mu V/Hz/sup 1/2/, and the temporal resolution can be less than 1 ps, thereby permitting studies of very fast low-level signals. >