Photonic microwave up-conversion using optoelectronic oscillator based on polarisation modulator

Abstract

An optical up-conversion scheme using an optoelectronic oscillator based on a polarisation modulator is proposed and demonstrated. A baseband signal with a bandwidth as large as 5 or 10 GHz is successfully up-converted to a 10 or 20 GHz carrier without any replacement of the devices in the scheme. The conversion loss is independent of the wavelength of the laser source. The stability of the operation is also investigated.