Efficient microwave frequency conversion using photonic link signal mixing

Abstract
An efficient, high-dynamic range microwave mixer implemented using an analog fiber-optic link with an overdriven optical modulator to produce the local oscillator requirement has been demonstrated and analyzed. This approach is compared with the heterodyned lasers approach to generating the local oscillator requirement and it is shown that increased conversion efficiency and more frequency and phase stable upconverted or downconverted signals are obtainable. Aside from RF link loss, which can be compensated with preamplification, a conversion loss below 5 dB has been demonstrated out to 10 GHz.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: