Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
14:18
Automation of Mode Locking in a Nonlinear Polarization Rotation Fiber Laser through Output Polarization Measurements
Published on: February 28, 2016
Polarization insensitive all-optical up-conversion for ROF systems based on parallel pump FWM in a SOA
1Laboratory for Micro/Nano Opto-Electronic Devices of Ministry of Education and School of Computer and Communication, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
Optics Express
|April 29, 2009
Summary
We developed a polarization-insensitive all-optical up-conversion method for radio-over-fiber systems. This technique uses a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and generates a 40 GHz millimeter-wave signal from a 10 GHz local oscillator.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Optical Communications
- Semiconductor Devices
Background:
- Radio-over-fiber (ROF) systems require efficient methods for optical signal up-conversion.
- Polarization sensitivity in optical systems can degrade performance and complicate receiver design.
- Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are key components in many optical signal processing applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and experimentally demonstrate a polarization-insensitive all-optical up-conversion technique for ROF systems.
- To achieve high-frequency millimeter-wave signal generation using a low-frequency radio frequency (RF) local oscillator (LO).
- To evaluate the performance of the up-converted signals in terms of receiver sensitivity and transmission penalties.
Main Methods:
- Generated a parallel and phase-locked pump signal using an external intensity modulator and cascaded optical filters for carrier suppression and odd-order sideband generation.
- Utilized Four-Wave Mixing (FWM) in a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) to perform the all-optical up-conversion.
- Employed optical filtering to isolate the desired single-sideband (SSB) 40 GHz optical millimeter-wave signal.
Main Results:
- Achieved polarization-insensitive operation due to the parallel and phase-locked nature of the generated pump signals.
- Successfully generated a 40 GHz optical millimeter-wave signal using only a 10 GHz RF LO.
- Obtained a receiver sensitivity of -28.4 dBm at a Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10⁻⁹.
- Demonstrated a power penalty of less than 1 dB after transmitting the up-converted signals over 20 km of standard single-mode fiber (SSMF-28).
Conclusions:
- The proposed all-optical up-conversion method based on FWM in an SOA is effective for ROF systems.
- The system exhibits excellent polarization-insensitive characteristics, simplifying practical implementation.
- The technique enables efficient generation of high-frequency millimeter-wave signals with good receiver sensitivity and low transmission loss.
