[摘要]：This study analyzes a photonic ultrawideband pulse generator by using a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator. A simple configuration capable of generating two popular types of ultrawideband pulse shape, Gaussian monocycle and doublet, is proposed. The generated ultrawideband pulses have very high quality, and the exact waveform is tunable with respect to parameter settings. By changing the time delay between two-path driving pulses applied to the upper and lower sub-Mach-Zehnder modulator of the dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator, the generated ultrawideband pulses can be switched from Gaussian monocycle to doublet. The proposal is first analyzed and then validated by simulations. Results of the study demonstrate that it can offer a realistic solution to photonic ultrawideband pulse generation. (C) 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.3640824]
