IEEE MTT-S Technical Committee MTT-3 (Microwave photonics) is sponsoring a "High power optical to microwave converter" Student Competition.
This contest is open to all IEEE MTT-S members who are enrolled as students at a university. The objective of the contest is to demonstrate new and effective photodiode power combining and power extraction techniques for stringent microwave photonics applications. Following submission of a proposal describing the potential solution, up to five contestants will be selected and provided six pre-defined photodiodes that are provided by LinearPhotonics. Teams of up to four (4) student members are allowed, provided each team member has a direct contribution to the solution. Contestants are required to demonstrate their design and the optical-to-microwave converter at the IMS2011. The designs will be judged by members of MTT-3 using pre-defined criteria that include converter efficiency, maximum power output, and linearity.
Two winners (or teams) will be selected with a first prize of US $700 and a second prize of US $300. The prizes shall be equally divided between all members of a winning team. In addition, the winners are required to submit an article to the IEEE Microwave magazine.
Specifications and Requirements:
| Center frequency |
2 to 6 GHz (select one) |
| Relative bandwidth |
>10% of center frequency |
| Peak RF power output |
>23 dBm |
| Output IP3 |
>38 dBm |
| Power efficiency |
>5% |
The converter must be securely mounted in a customer designed package. It should have an optical FC/APC connector for optical input, an SMA connector for RF output, and up to three banana plugs for DC power supply voltage input. The contestants should choose the most suitable DC power supply voltages. But the maximum/minimum DC voltage is limited to +/- 10 volts. The converter will be evaluated based on the performance between the optical FC/APC connector input and the SMA RF connector output. The MTT-3 committee will use an optical source with a modulation index up to 100% and an optical power up to 100mW for evaluating the design. Datasheets of the package will be provided upon an email to yli2@umassd.edu.
Evaluation Criteria
- Has the converter met specifications? Yes=25%; No =0 %
- Passband Peak RF output power (25%). The Peak RF output power is defined as the maximum RF output power while varying the power of the optical input (with a 100% modulation index). The worst case peak RF power in passband will be recorded for comparison. For example, if the passband RF power varies between 23 to 26 dBm, the worst case power (23 dBm) will be used for comparison between submitted designs.
- Passband output IP3 (25%). The output IP3 is defined as the output IP3 point when varying the optical modulation index for a given optical input power. The contestant should specify the desired optical input power. The worst case OIP3 in passband will be recorded for comparison. If the OIP3 varies between 35 to 40 dBm, the worst case power (35 dBm) will be used for comparison between submitted designs.
- Power efficiency (25%). The power efficiency is defined as the ratio between the peak RF power over the sum of the power drawn from the DC power supply and the optical power input. In the event of a tie, the bandwidth of the converter will be the tie-breaker and the decision of the MTT-3 committee is final and cannot be challenged.
How to participate:
- Email a proposal describing the intended solution to Prof. Yifei Li at yli2@umassd.edu, along with documents verifying IEEE MTT student membership and enrollment at a university as a student or PhD student. Deadline is January 15, 2011. If all requirements are met you will receive a confirmation of participation and the package will be shipped to you.
- Bring your piece of hardware to the International Microwave Symposium in Boston for characterization (including a photo of the circuit inside the package and schematics of the converter structure). Exact date and location of this evaluation event will be announced later.
General Competition Rules:
- To enter a competition, the student(s) must have been a full-time student (enrolled for a minimum of nine hours per term as graduate students or twelve hours per term as undergraduates) during the time the work was performed.
- The student(s) must submit a letter of intent to participate no later than Jan. 15, 2011. The letter shall be submitted to studentpapers@ims2011.org.
- The student(s) must have a signed statement from their academic advisor that the work is principally the effort of the student(s).
- The student(s) must attend the conference to present their design for evaluation at the specified time and location (TBD).