US Patent 8073342 Method and apparatus for transmitting optical signals

The present invention addresses the problem of transmitting optical signals with high extinction ratios using low-power drive signals. At present, low-power optical transmitters typically operate with modulation extinction ratios of, at best, about 10 dB. Embodiments of the present invention may achieve extinction ratios exceeding 20 dB using low-power drive signals of under 20 mW at data rates on the order of Gbits/sec. In addition, the modulation may be achieved with both low-power and low-fidelity drive waveforms, enabling conventional and often noisy high-speed, low-power electronics to generate high-extinction, high-fidelity optical waveforms.