A Performance Based Comparative Analysis of High Speed Electro Absorption and Mach-Zehnder Modulators to Mitigate Chromatic Dispersion at 140 GHz Millimeter Wave

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the performances of Electro Absorption Modulator (EAM) & Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) Mach-Zehnder Modulator (LN-MZM) at 140 GHz mm-wave for Radio over Fiber link is performed and effectiveness of two chromatic dispersion compensators i.e. Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) and Dispersion Compensation Fiber (DCF) is evaluated. The modulation scheme of Single Side Band (SSB) with return-to-zero (RZ) is used for generating 140 GHz mm-wave. The simulation results are analyzed at various distances to determine the robustness of the compensators to mitigate the chromatic dispersion. This analysis concludes that the Mach-Zehnder Modulator performs better than Electro Absorption Modulator at millimeter wave frequency and both FBG and DCF provide the same performance. However in the case of EAM, DCF is more effective as dispersion compensator than FBG at 25km.