Multitap Photonic Microwave Filters With Arbitrary Positive and Negative Coefficients Using a Polarization Modulator and an Optical Polarizer

A novel multitap photonic microwave filter with arbitrary positive and negative coefficients implemented using an electrooptic polarization modulator (PolM) and an optical polarizer is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed filter, the optical polarizer is connected at the output of the PolM with its transmission axis aligned at an angle of 45 to one principal axis of the PolM. By adjusting the polarization direction of the input lightwave to be 45 or 135 to one principal axis of the PolM, an inverted or noninverted intensity-modulated optical microwave signal is obtained at the output of the optical polarizer, which leads to the generation of a negative or positive coefficient. A time delay difference between adjacent taps is generated by using a wavelength-dependent delay line. A five-tap photonic microwave filter with arbitrary positive and negative coefficients is demonstrated. The reconfigurability of the filter is also investigated.