Linearized Mach-Zehnder Modulators for Microwave Photonic Applications

A practical all-optical linearization scheme for a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) for use within Microwave Photonic systems is proposed and demonstrated. It utilizes the complimentary output of a 2-output MZM to create a linearized transmitter. The concept is validated using fiber interconnected discrete components, achieving record linearity for a nonamplified link, with spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of 118.5 dB.Hz
^2/3
for a single fiber system. This novel linearization scheme can be easily incorporated into photonic integrated circuits, such as on the Silicon Photonics platform with heterogeneous III–V integration, enabling high-performance, high-volume, low-cost systems.