Photonic microwave mixing using period-one nonlinear dynamics of semiconductor lasers
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Title of Invention |
Photonic microwave mixing using period-one nonlinear dynamics of semiconductor lasers |
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Technology
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Photonic microwave mixing has been considered a key functionality in radio-over-fiber systems adopting high microwave subcarrier frequencies for antenna remoting applications. Such a functionality enables microwave subcarrier frequency upconversion for wireless transmission in downlinks or downconversion for photodetection in uplinks through photonic approaches, which provide various promising advantages, including broadband frequency tunability for either upconversion or downconversion, infinite isolation between microwave subcarriers and microwave local oscillators, and immunity to electromagnetic interference, which are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve using electronic approaches. The photonic approach proposed here takes advantage of a semiconductor laser operating at period-one dynamics for such a functionality through the nonlinear wave mixing happened inside the laser between a microwave-modulated optical input and the period-one dynamics of the laser excited by the input. The laser works not only as a photonic microwave mixer but also as a photonic microwave local oscillator. Only a typical semiconductor laser is needed as the key component, and no electronic microwave local oscillator and high-speed semiconductor laser are required. A conversion gain of up to 19 dB is achieved over a broad frequency range up to at least 45 GHz owing to the improvement of the optical modulation depth after conversion. The microwave linewidth and phase noise are mainly preserved after conversion. A bit-error ratio down to 10-9 at 622 Mb/s or higher with a detection sensitivity improvement of up to 3 dB is feasible. |
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Benefits |
The photonic approach proposed here takes advantage of a semiconductor laser operating at period-one dynamics for photonic microwave mixing, or sometimes referred to as photonic microwave frequency conversion, through the nonlinear wave mixing happened inside the laser between a microwave-modulated optical input and the period-one dynamics of the laser excited by the input. The laser works not only as a photonic microwave mixer but also as a photonic microwave local oscillator. Only a typical semiconductor laser is needed as the key component, making it highly possible to minimize the system through the technique based on photonic integrated circuits. No electronic microwave local oscillator and no high-speed semiconductor laser are thus required. A conversion gain of up to 19 dB is achieved over a broad frequency range up to at least 45 GHz owing to the improvement of the optical modulation depth after conversion, making it highly suitable for applications adopting high-frequency microwave signals. The microwave linewidth and phase noise are mainly preserved after conversion. A bit-error ratio down to 10-9 at 622 Mb/s or higher with a detection sensitivity improvement of up to 3 dB is feasible, making the system highly feasible for applications requiring high data bandwidth. |
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Possible Applications/ Industry Categories |
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Contact Information |
Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Center, NCKU Contact person：Yi-Yin, Lin E-mail：ainlin@mail.ncku.edu.tw |