Dynamic time expansion and compression using nonlinear waveguides

We have used coplanar waveguides made from nonlinear dielectric strontium titanate and superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O₇ electrodes to perform dynamic time expansion (DTE) and dynamic time compression (DTC) on fast signals with nanosecond duration. Experiments on 7.8-cm-long waveguides using bipulses with peak-to-peak amplitude on the order of 10 V and peak-to-peak separation of about 1 ns yielded DTC of about -50%, and DTE of about +50%. The implementation of DTE in fast detectors and data acquisition systems at the analog-to-digital conversion stage could enable these systems to operate with improved time resolution. The DTC could be used at the output of high-speed analog-to-digital converters or in radar applications.