Microwave Photonics Based Millimeter-Wave Signal Generation Technique for 5G Systems

We report a novel millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signal generation scheme with microwave photonics (MWP) technology for advanced 5G optical links. This work combines two parallel Mach–Zehnder modulators with a series Mach–Zehnder modulator for better tunability and efficient bandwidth. The experiments confirm a 35-GHz mm-wave signal of highest power and a 60-GHz mm-wave of lowest power from a 15-GHz electrical drive input signal. The optical sideband suppression ratio (OSSR) and the radio frequency sideband suppression ratio (RFSSR) over a 0.5-km standard single-mode fiber link are 27 and 66 dBm, respectively. The harmonic suppression is also studied with modulation depth (
$m$
) and filter attenuation (
$\alpha $
) parameters. The system’s performance is evaluated in terms of eye patterns, quality factor (
$Q$
), output power spectrum, and margin. In addition, the suggested photonic link plays a crucial role in developing 5G communication systems for generating high-frequency, ultrafast speed, and low-noise mm-wave signals.