A Linearized Optical Single-Sideband Modulation Analog Microwave Photonic Link Using Dual Parallel Interferometers

Dual parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) are presented to linearize the optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulation analog microwave photonic link. By using a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator at the transmit side of the link, an OSSB modulation can be obtained. By exploiting different RF responses of two MZIs at the receive end, the third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) is well suppressed and the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is enhanced. More importantly, we demonstrate fundamental-to-IMD3 ratio of 49 dB for an RF input signal power value of 10 dBm, which is 24 dB more than a conventional OSSB modulation link, and SFDR of 132 dB for a bandwidth of 1 Hz at the received optical power of 8 dBm assuming shot noise is the dominant noise contribution, which is improved approximately 20 dB.