Optical carrier Brillouin processing of microwave photonic signals

We introduce a novel concept in Brillouin signal processing based on modification of the optical carrier's magnitude and phase by stimulated Brillouin scattering-induced depletion. The technique offers wideband processing and low noise and requires only low optical power. Application to the enhancement of a 25-km high-frequency analog link is experimentally demonstrated and yields a 6.5-GHz bandwidth extension and a 13-dB reduction in the link insertion loss without intermodulation distortion.