Optical carrier filtering for high dynamic rangefibre optic links

Abstract

Optical carrier filtering is used with an externally modulated fibre optic link to maintain high dynamic range operation with significantly reduced optical power levels. A spur-free dynamic range of 115 dB Hz2/3 is achieved for a frequency of 17 GHz with a received optical power of only 1.5 mA. An external filter is used to demonstrate a 10 dB improvement in dynamic range for a fixed optical power level.