Millimeter-Wave Signal Generation With Tunable Frequency Multiplication Factor by Employing UFBG-Based Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter

In this paper, a simple and cost-effective millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signal generator with tunable frequency multiplication factor (FMF) by employing the uniform fiber Bragg grating based acousto-optic tunable filter (UFBG-AOTF) is proposed and demonstrated. A dual-driving Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) is used to generate multisidebands. The UFBG-AOTF can select the target sidebands. A tunable FMF of even times can be achieved by adjusting the frequency of the applied acoustic wave on the UFBG. Two homemade UFBG-AOTFs are used in a basic radio-over-fiber (RoF) system, resulting in the generation of mm-waves with the FMF of 2 and 4, separately. Moreover, higher FMFs of 6, 8, and 10 are also obtained by simulation. It turns out that after the data transmitting through the SMF of 25 km, the corresponding power penalties are less than 3.8 dB by employing the two homemade FBG-AOTFs. Numerical analysis, simulations, and some experiments are carried out to investigate the mechanism.