US 12,451,669 B2
High power MMW synthesizer with truly continuous ultra wide bandwidth tuning range
Kalin Spariosu, El Segundo, CA (US); Paul T. Hartin, McKinney, TX (US); and Michael R. Patrizi, Marlborough, MA (US)
Assigned to Raytheon Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by Raytheon Company, Waltham, MA (US)
Filed on May 19, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/748,698.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/193,378, filed on May 26, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0393429 A1, Dec. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. H01S 3/115 (2006.01); H01S 5/026 (2006.01); H01S 5/0625 (2006.01); H01S 5/065 (2006.01); H01S 5/14 (2006.01); H01S 3/107 (2006.01); H01S 5/06 (2006.01)
CPC H01S 5/0657 (2013.01) [H01S 5/0265 (2013.01); H01S 5/06253 (2013.01); H01S 5/141 (2013.01); H01S 3/107 (2013.01); H01S 5/0601 (2013.01); H01S 5/0607 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A synthesizer comprising:
a first resonator mirror;
a second resonator mirror;
a gain medium disposed within a laser resonator cavity, the laser resonator cavity defined by the first resonator mirror and the second resonator mirror;
a saturable absorber operationally coupled to the gain medium and having active control such that the saturable absorber is configured to generate a waveform via an injection locking signal to create a mode locking effect, the waveform having a frequency comb defined by one or more dimensions of the gain medium including at least one of a length, a width, or a height of the gain medium; and
a crystal electro-optical modulator disposed within the laser resonator cavity, the crystal electro-optical modulator having a nonlinear index of refraction as a function of voltage applied thereto;
wherein the synthesizer is configured such that (i) the waveform passes through the crystal electro-optical modulator to impinge on an external photodiode to output an emission RF waveform and (ii) changing the voltage applied to the crystal electro-optical modulator changes the index of refraction of the crystal electro-optical modulator, altering an optical path length of the laser resonator cavity to adjust a frequency of the emission RF waveform.