Frequency-multiplying microwave photonic phase shifter for independent multichannel phase shifting

A frequency-multiplying microwave photonic phase shifter with independent multichannel phase shifting capability is proposed and demonstrated using an integrated polarization division multiplexing dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (PDM-DPMZM) and a polarizer. By building a proper power distribution network to drive the PDM-DPMZM, two sidebands along two orthogonal polarization directions are generated with a spacing of two or four times the frequency of the driving signal. Leading the signal to a polarizer and a photodetector, a frequency-doubled or frequency-quadrupled signal with its phase adjusted by the polarization direction of the polarizer is achieved. The magnitude of the signal remains almost unchanged when the phase is adjusted. The proposed approach features compact configuration, scalable independent phase-shift channels and wide bandwidth, which can find applications in beam forming and analog signal processing for millimeter-wave or terahertz applications.