All-optical microwave bandpass filter and phase shifter using a broadband optical source and an optical phase modulator

Abstract

We propose a system that can perform microwave bandpass filtering and phase shifting simultaneously without redundant optical-electrical and electrical-optical conversions. The principle is based on polarization-dependant phase modulation of a broadband optical source and the variable optical carrier time shift method. A single-bandpass microwave photonic filter with a central frequency of 10.8 GHz, a 3-dB bandwidth of 670 MHz, and a 360° phase tuning range is experimentally demonstrated. The capability of our configuration to implement wideband phase shifters is also verified.