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Wideband tunable optoelectronic oscillator based on a phase modulator and a tunable optical filter
Xiaopeng Xie1, Cheng Zhang, Tao Sun
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Optics Letters
|March 5, 2013
Summary
This study presents a widely tunable optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) achieving an unprecedented frequency range. The novel design demonstrates excellent phase noise performance across its entire tunable bandwidth.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optics
- Electrical Engineering
- Signal Generation
Background:
- Optoelectronic oscillators (OEOs) are crucial for generating high-frequency signals.
- Achieving wide tunability in OEOs while maintaining signal quality remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a widely tunable optoelectronic oscillator (OEO).
- To investigate the phase noise performance of the OEO across its tunable range.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a broadband phase modulator and a tunable optical bandpass filter.
- Directly tuned the bandwidth of the optical bandpass filter to achieve frequency agility.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a record-wide fundamental frequency tunable range from 4.74 to 38.38 GHz.
- Achieved single-sideband phase noise below -120 dBc/Hz at a 10 KHz offset.
- Maintained excellent phase noise performance throughout the entire tunable range.
Conclusions:
- The proposed OEO design offers the widest fundamental frequency tunable range reported to date.
- The demonstrated OEO is suitable for applications requiring agile, high-quality microwave signal generation.
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