Design and Simulation of an Efficient Linearization Technique for mm-wave Radio Over Fiber Link

Abstract

Dynamic increase in the growth of wireless communication for various applications demands transmission of millimeter and microwave signals for long distance with low loss. Direct and external modulators are used in ROF systems. External modulators are preferred in high performance systems because of many advantages. Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM) is a versatile external modulator which gains attraction for ROF systems. Modulator has a very high non-linear transfer function which results in generation of many harmonic components and intermodulation distortion components. Out of these third order Inter Modulation Products (IMD3) dominates the distortion factor and results in degradation in the dynamic range of the system. Proposed architecture has highly linear ROF system with very low IMD3 components using a Dual Parallel Single Drive MZM Modulator (DP-SDMZM). Proposed DP-SDMZM modulator approach has gained SFDR of further 34 dB when compared to conventional MZM modulator.