Optical Modulation at High Information Rates

This paper describes an optical modulation scheme with a demonstrated information rate of 1 Gb/s. The modulation scheme employs an electronic multiplexing technique to obtain the high data rate from four 250-Mb/s channels. Efficient interfacing between the gas laser beam and the high-speed electronic circuits is achieved using a traveling-wave type modulator structure. General considerations in optical modulation systems are also included.