High-purity 60GHz band millimeter-wave generation based on optically injected semiconductor laser under subharmonic...

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Laser Technology
• Nonlinear Dynamics
• Microwave Engineering

Background:

• Optically injected semiconductor lasers (OISL) exhibit complex nonlinear dynamics, including period-one (P1) oscillations.
• Millimeter-wave generation is crucial for high-frequency communication and sensing applications.
• Subharmonic modulation is a technique used to generate lower-frequency signals from a higher-frequency source.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate high-purity millimeter-wave generation at 60 GHz using an OISL.
• To investigate the use of subharmonic microwave modulation for frequency control and tuning.
• To analyze the spectral properties, including linewidth and phase noise, of the generated millimeter-waves.

Main Methods:

• An OISL was driven into a period-one (P1) nonlinear dynamical state.
• Subharmonic microwave modulation (1/4 and 1/9 orders) was applied to the OISL.
• The central frequency, linewidth, and SSB phase noise of the generated millimeter-waves were measured.

Main Results:

• A 60 GHz band millimeter-wave signal with a linewidth below 1.6 kHz and SSB phase noise of -96 dBc/Hz was generated using 1/4 subharmonic modulation.
• The central frequency was tunable from 54.32 GHz to 65.96 GHz by adjusting the modulation frequency.
• A higher-order 1/9 subharmonic modulation generated a 65.07 GHz signal with a linewidth below 1.6 kHz and SSB phase noise below -98 dBc/Hz.

Conclusions:

• Optically injected semiconductor lasers operating in the P1 state are suitable for high-purity millimeter-wave generation.
• Subharmonic microwave modulation offers an effective method for tuning the frequency of generated millimeter-waves.
• The demonstrated technique shows potential for applications requiring stable and tunable millimeter-wave sources.