Fiber-optic Michelson-Gires-Turnois interferometer based multifunctional optical filter for microwave photonic applications

An optical filter architecture based on Michelson Gires-Turnoir Interferometer (MGTI) platform is proposed and analyzed through simulations for applications in microwave photonic applications. The optical filter has a variety of transfer functions that can be used to suppress optical side bands, shape the amplitude of optical comps, and perform spectral slicing for signal processing in the microwave domain. The unique feature of this approach is the use of fiber loop mirrors (FLM) with polarization controllers that operate as partial and/or fully reflective elements within the MGTI structure. Unlike other reflective elements, the FLMs have the ability to achieve high dynamic range in the reflectivity (e.g., 0% to 100%), which provides the multi-functional transfer functions of the MGTI.