ELECTROOPTICAL SAMPLING FOR HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC-CIRCUITS

A unique electro-optical sampling technique for spatially mapping the potential distribution within stripline circuits is reviewed. This technique allows noninvasive probing of in-situ electrical waveforms over two dimensional regions of the circuit lay-out. A calibration algorithm was developed which corrects for both optical etalon effects and a geometrical factor which limit the accuracy of the obtained two-dimensional maps. Timing jitter due to phase noise in the mode-locked driver and spontaneous emission noise in the actively mode locked laser must also be taken into account to achieve optimum temporal resolution in the optical sampling experiment.