Abstract
An RF-photonic filter and down-converter system based on a compact and
fully tunable silicon optical filter has been demonstrated and analyzed. Its
frequency down-conversion was implemented using optical heterodyne detection
with an injection locked laser. This system filters a 1.25 GHz-wide signal
with $>20$ dB filter rejection and a very broad 20 GHz center tuning range.
The frequency down-conversion process is operated in a low-IF mode to avoid
laser low frequency noises. Measured system Spurious-Free Dynamic Range
(SFDR) of 94.3 dB*Hz$^{2/3}$ has been limited by the optical losses from I/O coupling and
measurement setup. We examined experimentally that 105.3 dB*Hz$^{2/3}$ SFDR is achievable if the encountered optical loss were reduced
to the filter's intrinsic loss. Based on the excellent agreements between
measured and simulated results, we explore the critical improvements of the
silicon photonic devices needed for the system to achieve 118 dB*Hz$^{2/3}$ SFDR and briefly review the status of the component
technologies.
© 2010 IEEE
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