SOA-MZI photonic sampler with post-distortion linearization technique

Abstract: We present a post-distortion linearization technique for a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (SOA-MZI) photonic sampler. The sampling source is an active mode-locked laser producing 12.6 ps-width pulses with a repetition frequency of 10 GHz. The mathematical model for the linearization technique is presented, and then evaluated for the quasi-static regime, i.e. sampling continuous-wave signals, and for the dynamic regime, i.e. sampling sinusoidal signals. A significant improvement in terms of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) equal to 23.4 dB is observed for a modulation index equal to 80% in the quasi-static regime, matching the highest observed THD improvement in the dynamic regime.