Performance considerations for RF photonic links

In conclusion, we have derived quantitative comparisons of single- and multi-octave link performance and an exact relation for the low-biasing scheme which together indicate that balanced photonic link (PL) performance is generally superior to that of the low-biased PL. Also, new insight into the problem of optimizing this performance over key design parameters of the PL itself and of an accompanying microwave preamplifier has been provided using a new figure of merit.