Photonic generation of triangular waveform signals by using a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator

A photonic approach to generate triangular waveform signals is proposed and analyzed. With active bias control, two sub-MZMs (MZ-a and MZ-b) of a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DP-MZM) operate at minimum transmission point, leaving the main MZM (MZ-c) at quadrature transmission point. Triangular waveform can be observed by a parameter setting of modulation index. The proposal is first analyzed and then validated by simulation. The key significance of the scheme is that it is capable of generating triangular waveform signals via a sinusoid local oscillator.