0.83- and 1.3-micron microwave (2-18 GHz) fiber-optic links using directly modulated laser sources

Loss and noise characteristics of 0.83- mu m and 1.3- mu m directly modulated laser fiber-optic links were measured from 2 to 19 GHz. The 1.3- mu m system exhibited lower loss (46 dB at 18 GHz) and noise figure (64 dB at 18 GHz) than the 0.83- mu m version for frequencies above 10 GHz. Deleterious feedback-induced effects were observed in the 0.83- mu m link, including sporadic 45-dB radiofrequency signal dropouts.<<ETX>>