Reconfigurable RF photonic filter with negative coefficients and flat-top resonances using phase inversion in a newly designed 2 /spl times/ 1 integrated Mach-Zehnder modulator

We report novel results for the implementation of incoherent radio-frequency (RF) photonic filters with negative coefficients using a newly developed 2 /spl times/ 1 Mach-Zehnder modulator device featuring /spl pi/-shifted RF modulation over the lightwave signals entering the device at complementary input ports. The characteristics of the novel device are described and the device used to implement an eight-tap (positive and negative) transversal RF photonic reconfigurable filter with square-type resonances.