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Radio-over-fiber AM-to-FM upconversion using an optically injected semiconductor laser
Sze-Chun Chan1, Sheng-Kwang Hwang, Jia-Ming Liu
1Electrical Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1594, USA. scchan@ucla.edu
Optics Letters
|July 13, 2006
Summary
This study presents an all-optical method for converting amplitude modulation (AM) baseband signals to frequency modulation (FM) microwave signals using a semiconductor laser. This innovative radio-over-fiber technology achieves efficient signal conversion for wireless broadcasting.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Optical Communications
- Microwave Engineering
Background:
- Radio-over-fiber (ROF) systems transmit microwave signals over optical fibers, typically requiring baseband-to-microwave upconversion and amplitude modulation (AM) to frequency modulation (FM) transformation.
- Conventional interfaces between optical communication systems (baseband AM) and ROF systems (microwave FM) necessitate complex electronic upconversion and modulation conversion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate an all-optical solution for AM-to-FM conversion in radio-over-fiber systems.
- To demonstrate the feasibility of using an optically injected semiconductor laser for signal modulation and frequency conversion.
Main Methods:
- An optically injected semiconductor laser was operated in a dynamic state, exhibiting intensity oscillations at a microwave frequency.
- The laser's dynamic state was modulated by an incoming AM baseband signal, inducing frequency modulation in the output microwave signal.
- The system demonstrated optical conversion of an OC-12 622-Mbps AM signal to an FM microwave signal centered at 15.90 GHz.
Main Results:
- Successful all-optical AM-to-FM conversion was achieved using the optically injected semiconductor laser.
- The system processed a 622-Mbps AM baseband signal, outputting a 15.90 GHz FM microwave signal.
- A low bit-error rate (BER) of less than 10^-9 was measured, indicating high signal fidelity.
Conclusions:
- An optically injected semiconductor laser can effectively perform all-optical AM-to-FM conversion for radio-over-fiber applications.
- This method simplifies the interface between baseband optical communication and microwave wireless broadcasting.
- The demonstrated technique offers a promising solution for efficient and high-performance signal processing in future optical-wireless integrated systems.
