Microwave Frequency Measurement Based on Optical Power Monitoring Using a Complementary Optical Filter Pair

An approach to the measurement of a microwave frequency based on optical power monitoring using a complementary optical filter pair is proposed and investigated. In the proposed system, a microwave signal is applied to a Mach-Zehnder modulator, which is biased at the minimum transmission point to suppress the optical carrier. The carrier-suppressed optical signal is then sent to the complementary optical filter pair, with the powers from the complementary filters measured by two optical power meters. A mathematical expression that relates the microwave frequency and the optical powers is developed. Experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The performance of the proposed system in terms of the frequency measurement range, operation stability, and robustness to noise is also investigated.

[1]  D. R. Wight,et al.  16-channel (1- to 16-GHz) microwave spectrum analyzer device based on a phased array of GaAs/AlGaAs electro-optic waveguide delay lines , 1998, Photonics West.

[2]  D.B. Hunter,et al.  A photonic technique for microwave frequency measurement , 2006, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[3]  L.G. Edvell,et al.  Wideband Microwave Photonic Channelised Receiver , 2005, 2005 International Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics.

[4]  M. Tahkokorpi,et al.  A guided-wave Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure for wavelength multiplexing , 1991, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[5]  A. Mitchell,et al.  A microwave channelizer and spectroscope based on an integrated optical Bragg-grating Fabry-Perot and integrated hybrid Fresnel lens system , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[6]  Ming C. Wu,et al.  Characterization of a coherent optical RF channelizer based on a diffraction grating , 2001 .

[7]  A. C. Lindsay,et al.  A Fabry-Perot scanning receiver for microwave signal processing , 1999 .

[8]  Do-Hyun Kim,et al.  Sagnac loop interferometer based on polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber with reduced temperature sensitivity. , 2004, Optics express.

[9]  Xihua Zou,et al.  An Approach to the Measurement of Microwave Frequency Based on Optical Power Monitoring , 2008, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[10]  Xihua Zou,et al.  An Optical Approach to Microwave Frequency Measurement With Adjustable Measurement Range and Resolution , 2008, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[11]  A. Yariv.  Optical electronics in modern communications , 1997 .