Abstract
Two cascaded dual-polarization modulators are proposed to generate frequency-octupled microwave signal without an optical filter. The dual-polarization modulator is a commercially available integrated device, which consists of a polarization beam splitter, a polarization beam combiner, and two Mach–Zehnder modulators (MZMs). By properly adjusting the phase difference between the two drive signals, the direct current bias points of the modulators, and the polarization state of the light wave after the modulator, a pure frequency-octupled signal with an optical sideband suppression ratio exceeding 23 dB and a radio frequency spurious suppression ratio (RFSSR) higher than 38 dB can be obtained. A comparison is made with a two series parallel MZM architecture. Simulation results show that the intrinsic conversion efficiency of the proposed method is improved by 2 dB and the RFSSR is also enhanced over a wide range of modulation index.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61401502 and 61571461) and Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (No. 2016JQ6008).
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Zhu, Z., Zhao, S., Li, X. et al. Photonic generation of frequency-octupled microwave signal with reduced electrical local oscillator power and improved spectrum purity. Opt Quant Electron 49, 65 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-017-0907-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-017-0907-9