Multioctave high dynamic range up-conversion optical-heterodyned microwave photonic link

An up-converting microwave photonic link which enables high dynamic range over a multioctave information bandwidth is demonstrated. The improvement in spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) as compared to conventional links is experimentally demonstrated. The link consists of two heterodyned lasers with one optical carrier modulated by a LiNbO/sub 3/ Mach-Zehnder modulator biased at the null point. This results in strong optical sidebands, minimum even order distortion, and more than /spl sim/40-dB suppression of the optical carrier. The first carrier's two optical sidebands are heterodyned with the second unmodulated optical carrier. The modulated optical carrier is suppressed reducing noise power and enhancing SFDR. An SFDR of 115 dB/Hz/sup 2/3/ was measured. The detected local oscillator power is also suppressed, easing output filtering requirements.