Optical Heterodyning for Reduction of Chromatic Dispersion Sensitivity in 60 GHz Mode-Locked Laser Systems

In this paper, a method is proposed to reduce the sensitivity to chromatic dispersion over a fiber optic link based on mode-locked lasers for Millimeter Waves (MMW) generation and transmission. The simulation presented here gives an estimation of the length margin of fiber available for radio-over-fiber networks with minimal sensitivity and maximum received MMW power. The simulation results are verified experimentally by means of a 60 GHz mode-locked laser system combined with an unbalanced Mach Zehnder interferometer for the compensation of the impact of dispersion effects on transmitted MMW power and fiber length range.