Multioctave high dynamic range up-conversion optical-heterodyned microwave photonic link

An up-converting microwave photonic link which enables high dynamic range over a multioctave information bandwidth is demonstrated. The improvement in spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) as compared to conventional links is experimentally demonstrated. The link consists of two heterodyned lasers with one optical carrier modulated by a LiNbO₃ Mach-Zehnder modulator biased at the null point. This results in strong optical sidebands, minimum even order distortion, and more than ∼40-dB suppression of the optical carrier. The first carrier´s two optical sidebands are heterodyned with the second unmodulated optical carrier. The modulated optical carrier is suppressed reducing noise power and enhancing SFDR. An SFDR of 115 dB/Hz²3/ was measured. The detected local oscillator power is also suppressed, easing output filtering requirements.