A linearized optical single-sideband modulation RoF link with tunable optical carrier-to-sideband ratio

In this paper, an optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulation radio over fiber (RoF) link with tunable optical carrier-to-side-band ratio (OCSR) and simultaneous third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) and power fading suppression is proposed. In the proposed link, a phase-modulated signal and an optical carrier are polarization multiplexed using a Sagnac loop. The periodic power fading caused by chromatic dispersion is avoided by filtering the lower sideband. By adjusting the polarization state, the IMD3 is suppressed and a tunable OCSR can be achieved. Compared with the traditional Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) based link, the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of the proposed link is improved by more than 18 dB with different RF frequencies. In the broadband characteristic test, the proposed link exhibits lower error vector amplitude (EVM) and higher adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) in a larger input RF power range.