Harmonic RF carrier generation and broadband data upconversion using stimulated Brillouin scattering

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a harmonic radio frequency (RF) carrier generation and broadband data upconversion technique with single mode and single sideband (-SSB) modulation for radio-over-fiber (RoF) systems using stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). The optical carrier-to-sideband ratio (CSR) of the single mode and SSB modulated signal can be easily adjusted to achieve the best received sensitivity performance of the RoF system. By using this method, we successfully demonstrate generation of third-harmonic RF carrier at 32.625 GHz with f(LO) of 10.875 GHz and upconversion of 1.25-Gb/s data to the RF carrier band. In addition, the data bandwidth is independent of the Brillouin gain profile. Finally, the transmission performance of the RoF downlink system is examined. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.