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Ultra-flat broadband microwave frequency comb generation based on optical frequency comb with a multiple-quantum-well electro-absorption modulator in critical state

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Abstract

In this paper, we proposed a novel ultra-flat broadband microwave frequency comb (MFC) generation based on optical frequency comb (OFC) with a multiple-quantum-well electro-absorption modulator (MQW-EAM) in critical state. The scheme is simple and easy to adjust. The performance of the MFC generation scheme is investigated using software Optisystem. The results show that the comb spacing of MFC can be adjusted from 5 to 20 GHz by changing RF signal’s frequency and the MFC is almost independent on the linewidth of the tunable laser diode. The performance of the MFC can be improved by reasonably increasing the voltage of the RF, the small-signal gain of the Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and the responsivity of the photodetector. The MFC generated by this scheme has 300 GHz effective bandwidth with 15 comb lines, whose power variation is 0.02 dB, when the components’ parameters in the Optisystem are set as follows: the power of tunable laser diode (TLD) is 0 dBm, the wavelength is 1552.52 nm, and linewidth is 1 MHz; RF signal’s frequency is 20 GHz and the voltage is 10 V; the reverse bias voltage of MQW-EAM is 6.92 V; the small-signal gain of the EDFA is 40 dB; the responsivity of the photodetector (PD) is 1 A/W.

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Acknowledgements

Related studies were supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61275067).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Electronic and Optical Engineering, College of Microelectronics, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Cong Shen, Peili Li, Xinyuan Zhu, Yuanfang Zhang & Yaqiao Han

Authors
  1. Cong Shen
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  2. Peili Li
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  3. Xinyuan Zhu
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  4. Yuanfang Zhang
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  5. Yaqiao Han
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peili Li.

Additional information

Cong Shen is currently a third-year postgraduate student of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications majoring in industrial engineering. His research direction is optical communication. His academic area is optical fiber communication and optical waveguide technology. His research consists of five parts, namely, research problems and significance, theoretical bases of the study, methodology, results, and innovation and limitations of the study.

Peili Li received the B.S. degree in physics from Wuhan University, Wuhan, China, in 1996, the M.Sc. degree in physical electronics from the Institute of Laser Technology and Engineering, and the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Optoelectronics Engineering in Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, in 2000. She worked toward Postdoctor in Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics in 2007. Now she is working in Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Her research interests are optoelectronic devices, fiber communication systems, and numerical modeling and simulation of semiconductor optical devices.

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Shen, C., Li, P., Zhu, X. et al. Ultra-flat broadband microwave frequency comb generation based on optical frequency comb with a multiple-quantum-well electro-absorption modulator in critical state. Front. Optoelectron. 12, 382–391 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-019-0915-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-019-0915-4

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