Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands

An optical single sideband modulator without generating both the −2nd- and +2nd-order sidebands is presented. It is based on a parallel operation of two dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulators (DDMZMs) where one is operated as a conventional single sideband (SSB) modulato...

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Main Authors: Erwin Hoi Wing Chan, Chongjia Huang, Chirappanath B. Albert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2018-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8358709/
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author Erwin Hoi Wing Chan
Chongjia Huang
Chirappanath B. Albert
author_facet Erwin Hoi Wing Chan
Chongjia Huang
Chirappanath B. Albert
author_sort Erwin Hoi Wing Chan
collection DOAJ
description An optical single sideband modulator without generating both the −2nd- and +2nd-order sidebands is presented. It is based on a parallel operation of two dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulators (DDMZMs) where one is operated as a conventional single sideband (SSB) modulator and the other is operated as a single-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) biased at the maximum transmission point. The 2nd-order sidebands generated by the SSB modulator and the maximum-biased MZM can be cancelled by controlling the sideband amplitude and phase. Canceling the 2nd-order sidebands eliminates the second-order harmonic component presented at the output of a long-reach fiber optic link. The new SSB modulator can be implemented using standard off-the-shelf components and has a wide bandwidth. Experimental results show >20 dB 2nd-order sidebands suppression for different modulation indexes and 22.6 dB reduction in the fiber optic link output second-order harmonic component, compared to using a conventional SSB modulator formed by a DDMZM and a 90° hybrid coupler. Results also demonstrate that the performance of the new SSB modulator is insensitive to the optical carrier frequency and the input RF signal frequency.
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spelling doaj-art-b8b9bf0e75874b35b696caa6138096a32025-08-20T03:16:04ZengIEEEIEEE Photonics Journal1943-06552018-01-0110311010.1109/JPHOT.2018.28358108358709Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order SidebandsErwin Hoi Wing Chan0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0885-4572Chongjia Huang1Chirappanath B. Albert2School of Engineering and Information Technology, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, AustraliaSchool of Engineering and Information Technology, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, AustraliaSchool of Engineering and Information Technology, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, AustraliaAn optical single sideband modulator without generating both the −2nd- and +2nd-order sidebands is presented. It is based on a parallel operation of two dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulators (DDMZMs) where one is operated as a conventional single sideband (SSB) modulator and the other is operated as a single-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) biased at the maximum transmission point. The 2nd-order sidebands generated by the SSB modulator and the maximum-biased MZM can be cancelled by controlling the sideband amplitude and phase. Canceling the 2nd-order sidebands eliminates the second-order harmonic component presented at the output of a long-reach fiber optic link. The new SSB modulator can be implemented using standard off-the-shelf components and has a wide bandwidth. Experimental results show >20 dB 2nd-order sidebands suppression for different modulation indexes and 22.6 dB reduction in the fiber optic link output second-order harmonic component, compared to using a conventional SSB modulator formed by a DDMZM and a 90° hybrid coupler. Results also demonstrate that the performance of the new SSB modulator is insensitive to the optical carrier frequency and the input RF signal frequency.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8358709/Fiber optics links and subsystemsoptical communicationsradio frequency photonicsmodulators.
spellingShingle Erwin Hoi Wing Chan
Chongjia Huang
Chirappanath B. Albert
Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands
IEEE Photonics Journal
Fiber optics links and subsystems
optical communications
radio frequency photonics
modulators.
title Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands
title_full Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands
title_fullStr Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands
title_full_unstemmed Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands
title_short Optical Single Sideband Modulator Without Second-Order Sidebands
title_sort optical single sideband modulator without second order sidebands
topic Fiber optics links and subsystems
optical communications
radio frequency photonics
modulators.
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8358709/
work_keys_str_mv AT erwinhoiwingchan opticalsinglesidebandmodulatorwithoutsecondordersidebands
AT chongjiahuang opticalsinglesidebandmodulatorwithoutsecondordersidebands
AT chirappanathbalbert opticalsinglesidebandmodulatorwithoutsecondordersidebands